What Is Reflexive and Emphatic Pronouns? | With Examples

What Is Reflexive and Emphatic Pronouns?

Reflexive pronouns are used as objects when the subject and the receiver are the same. These can be direct objects, indirect objects or objects of prediction. Even when we used them, the focus of the sentence was on the verb. If a reflective pronoun is removed from a sentence, it can become meaningless.

Emphatic pronouns are used to emphasize or intensify the subject. They distract from the verb and bring it into the content of the sentence. If we remove a emphatic pronoun from a sentence, it will not make any difference contextually or grammatically.

What are Reflexive Pronouns

We use a reflexive pronoun when we refer to objects and objects of action as the same person, animal or thing. For example, consider the sentence, 'The cat covered itself with a blanket'. Here, the reflexive pronoun is ‘itself’. It shows that the action is performed on itself. That is, the animal did the work of keeping itself covered.

Especially in English, a reflexive pronoun would end in -self or -selves, and refer to a previously named noun or pronoun (myself, yourself, himself, herself, oneself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves etc.). When the subject and/ or object refer to the same person.

Let us clarify this by understanding the following sentences.

Examples of Reflexive Pronouns

Sentences of “Myself”

• I hate not myself. 
• I did not it myself. 
• I fell over and hit myself.
• I can do it just for myself.
• I wrote the speech myself.
• I commenced myself to her.
• Never mind. I’ll do it myself.
• I myself have written this book.
• I am coming to do it for myself.
• I am saving some gift for myself.
• I asked myself a question answer.
• I enjoyed myself during the holidays.
• I feel good about myself sometimes.
• You need not help myself or Jennifer. 
• I want to see more of myself in my baby.
• I prepared the whole breakfast by myself.
• Myself I quickly made a cup of hot milk for myself.

Sentences of “Himself”

• Alex spoke to himself. 
• Smith pinched himself.
• The boy did it to himself.
• John bought it for himself.
• He did not it all by himself.
• Mick went over the report himself.
• He gave himself a long promotion.
• He lived by himself in a small town.
• He did get married, just for himself.
• He usually comes on holiday by himself.
• It’s wonder that he does listen to himself.
• Kate lived by himself in an enormous house.
• Alex uniformed himself in spite of his injuries.
• The trainer himself did not know the answer.
• He worked easy to make himself look respectable.

Sentences of “Herself”

• John thumped herself.
• She went all by herself.
• She did not it all by herself.
• She mended the bike herself.
• She walked house by herself.
• Smith took herself to the zoo!
• Alex still does not trust herself.
• She took herself to the museum!
• She’s new enough to wash herself.
• She can wait to see herself on TV.
• My sister looked herself up on Tweeter.
• She is not talking to herself in the mirror.
• My brother looked herself up on Google Drive.
• On vacation, she did need herself to go anywhere!
• My sister made me dinner and herself a sandwich.

Sentences of “Yourself”

• Buy a new bike for yourself.
• Don’t get yourself too much.
• You're might cuting yourself.
• Why can’t you help yourself?
• Are you teaching yourself a skill?
• You should be doing that yourself.
• You shouldn't use yourself to do it.
• Were you not speaking to yourself?
• Do you not enjoy being by yourself?
• I think it is instant to learn by yourself.
• Would you not like to pour yourself a drink?
• Are you including yourself in your evaluation?
• Would you like to help yourself to another eat?
• If you not love yourself then that is all you need.
• Could you not include yourself in your evaluation?
• You’re going to have to drive yourself to college today.

Sentences of “Oneself”

• What does oneself do?
• Oneself is not very busy.
• Oneself is not taking care.
• Oneself is not feeling well.  
• I asked oneself a question.
• One should treat oneself well.
• One should do their best oneself.
• It is better to do any work oneself.
• It is important to think about oneself.
• For healing, one should tend to oneself.
• One has to improve oneself all the time.
• One should strive to better oneself every day.
• Should a person buy oneself a bean bag chair?
• One has to take care of oneself when going out.
• No one understands oneself better than oneself.
• One should be careful to cut oneself with the knife.
• Talking to oneself is necessarily a sign of madness. 

Sentences of “Itself”

• The tiger bit itself.
• It turns itself off for reason.
• Kendal itself is quite a big town.
• The pen itself is very good indeed.
• Itself the mobile is restarting itself.
• The house itself is open to the public.
• The kitten entangled itself in the lead.
• The dog itself escaped from its owner.
• He got his degree from a college itself.
• The book itself is not very good indeed.
• Itself the computer is not restarting itself.
• My pant is blue on itself but it’s red in the light.
• My shirt is red on itself but it’s blue in the light.
• I think that this situation itself is hurt to handle.
• There was a hole in the wall, and the cat fell in itself.

Sentences of “Yourselves”

• You cannot get yourselves out.
• You’ll not have to go by yourselves.
• Jarry can save you from yourselves.
• You shouldn't all do the job yourselves.
• I think you should earn it for yourselves.
• I hope you enjoy yourselves at the party!
• Are you too young to go out by yourselves?
• You are not too young to come by yourselves.
• Are you not redecorating your flat yourselves?
• You're not too young to go out by yourselves.
• Any help you get will be money for yourselves.
• I hope that you will have reliance in yourselves.
• You had not better leave a present for yourselves!
• Are you not redecorating your plane yourselves?
• Yourselves please help yourselves with the project.
• Had you not better leave a present for yourselves?

Sentences of “Themselves”

• They made themselves at school.
• The child got dress by themselves.
• They're buying themselves a Mobile.
• They hadn't to cooky for themselves.
• They hurt themselves on broken mirror.
• The child buy lot of things for themselves.
• Our children walk to field by themselves.
• They wanted to get into zoo themselves.
• Even if they did understand it themselves.
• Are they not buying themselves a new TV?
• They amused themselves during the bike trip.
• The boy bought lots of things for themselves.
• I wish the children would behave themselves.
• They're not buying themselves a old television.
• Each team should elect person to present themselves.

Sentences of “Ourselves”

• If we couldn't do it ourselves.
• We'll give ourselves a cheat day.
• We bought ourselves a new bike.
• We left a notebook for ourselves.
• We have to get help for ourselves.
• We made ourselves a glass of milk. 
• We looked at ourselves in the glass.
• We need to believe in ourselves more.
• We often ask ourselves why we left UK.
• We left a new pocket-book for ourselves.
• We’ve brought ourselves something to eat.
• We finally found the way town by ourselves. 
• Don't worry, we have some here for ourselves!
• We haven't brought ourselves something to eat.
• We could rely on ourselves to solve the problem.
• We don’t have to go out; we can fix lunch ourselves.
• Or ourselves if I'm talking about me and my cousins.

What are Emphatic Pronouns

Emphatic pronouns are compound personal pronouns and they also refer to the object of the action again in the subject. Well, Emphatic pronouns are used only to emphasize and highlight the verbs of the subject. Notice here that we cannot use Emphatic pronouns as subjects. Consider the following example.

Examples of Emphatic Pronouns

• She herself will give up.
• She cut her hair herself.
• I myself wrote this letter.
• Alex himself will search it.
• He himself wrote this poem.
• She herself informed to me.
• He himself wrote the essay.
• She cook  herself at present.
• We saw the Teacher himself.
• They themselves saw the TV.
• The cat itself caught the ball.
• They will don't it themselves.
• She cut her figure nail herself.
• Alex himself heard the remark.
• She herself will search the ball.
• The woman himself did not it.
• The woman himself did not it.
• The boy itself caught the ball.
• We ourselves will offcut it up.
• She herself heard the remark.
• He himself broke his door pane.
• You yourself can write this letter.
• I myself checked all the due bills. 
• You yourself can best experience.
• Mick cook himself at present now.
• The city itself has very big market.
• We ourselves clean their premises.
• She herself can find your strength.
• We ourselves can best experience.
• He himself welcomed us to the zoo.
• We will ourselves solve this matter.
• Kate himself presented that lecture.
• The office building itself is very tall.
• We saw the Prime Minister himself.
• I myself checked all the Mobile bills.
• She herself takes care of her childs.
• You yourself couldn't get it very well.
• You yourself couldn't get it very bad.
• We ourselves prefer to stay at home.
• You can't yourself ask him to go here.
• You yourself couldn't get it very good.
• The town itself has very small market.
• The school building itself is very short.
• You yourself did not the wrong answer.
• You yourself can not write that content.
• I myself will not try to solve this matter.
• We ourselves had gone to a new place.
• She herself takes care of her students.
• We ourselves admitted their misdeed.
• They will themselves solve this problem.
• He himself attended that birthday party.
• She herself decided attend the marriage.
• They themselves prefer to stay at school.
• We will investigate this matter ourselves.
• I myself bought his lunchbox and gave him.
• Itself My hometown itself needs renovation.
• Himself George questioned the call himself.
• The postman himself is on a leave of 2 days.
• You yourself decided to attend the marriage.
• The village itself doesn't receive much rainfall.
• Herself Alex herself completed her classwork.
• Secretary himself welcomed us to the school.
• The Doctor himself is on a leave of 6 days only.
• They themselves had gone to a particular place.
• She herself decided not to attend the birthday party.

Conclusion

In the case of reflexive pronouns, there is a need to use them, where strong pronouns are used to make writing or conversation more interesting and meaningful. However, as happens often in life, a good thing can be too bad. Similarly, it can create a negative impression or make a noise if we use much Emphatic pronouns in our sentences.