Reflexive and emphatic pronouns

Hello, guys! Welcome to Grammar Zone!

Allan is having a birthday party on Saturday. Surely, he invited us and asked for help with all those preparations…

Do you like going to the parties? To tell the truth, I’m not keen on loud music and … a mess after the party!

What type of guest are you? Let’s check.

At parties:

1. Do you usually:

A enjoy yourself?

B sit in a corner and look at the others?

C eat, drink and go home?

2. Your friend has invited somebody you don’t like.

A You say it’s OK. It’s her/his party after all.

B You sit by yourself and feel upset.

C You start a fight and you end up shouting at each other.

3. At the buffet:

A You eat a little of everything.

B You don’t eat anything because you only eat your mum’s food.

C You help yourself to as much food as you can.

4. When it’s time to dance:

A you dance with the shiest boy/girl in the room.

B you hide yourself in the darkest corner.

C you turn on the TV and watch your favourite programme.

5. The music is:

A great! You are the DJ and you’ve got all the latest hits!

B awful! You complain to the DJ!

C boring! You turn on your personal stereo!

6. When it’s time to leave:

A you thank your friend for the lovely party.

B you go away when nobody is looking.

C you tell yourself you will never go to another party.

Are you looking forward to the results of the test?

Here you are:

Have you got more As?           You’re the perfect guest!

Have you got more Bs?            You’re a bore!

Have you got more Cs?            You’re the guest nobody wants!

You might have noticed that all the highlighted phrases have the same word – YOURSELF! This is so-called reflexive pronoun.

Reflexive pronouns end in –self (singular) or –selves (plural).

Complete the table:

Now let’s talk about the use of reflexive pronouns.

We often use reflexive pronouns when the subject and the object of the verb refer to the same person or thing.

We use a reflexive pronoun to make it clear who or what is being referred to.

Compare these sentences:

Kate looked at herself in the mirror. – Кейт посмотрела на себя в зеркало.

(The subject and the object are the same.)

Kate looked at her in the mirror. - Кейт посмотрела на неё в зеркало.

The subject and the object are different. Kate is looking at someone else in the mirror.)

Here are some other examples:

Why does she blame you? – Почему она винит тебя?

Why do you blame yourself? – Почему ты винишь себя?

My cat hurt the dog. – Мой кот поцарапал собаку.

My cat hurt itself. – Мой кот поранился.

Could you help my children? – Не могли бы вы помочь моим детям?

Could you help yourselves? – Не могли бы вы помочь себе (сами)?

·                   We can use a reflexive pronoun as direct object with most transitive verbs, but these are the most common:

amuse – забавляться, развлекаться

behave – вести себя

blame – обвинять себя

burn – обжечься

cut – порезаться

enjoy – наслаждаться

hurt – причинить себе боль

look at/after – смотреть на себя, за кем-то

laugh at – смеяться

introduce – представиться

I am teaching myself how to drive.

She cut herself on the broken glass.

He loved himself too much, and never thought about anyone else.

·                   Reflexive pronouns can be used after be, feel, look, seem to describe emotions and states.

E.g. He doesn’t seem himself these days.

·                   We do not use a reflexive pronoun after verbs which describe things people usually do for themselves, such as:

wash

shave

dress

afford

complain

meet

rest

relax

get up

stand up

sit down

wake up

He washed in cold water.

He always shaved before going out in the evening.

Michael dressed and got ready for the party.

However, we can use a reflexive pronoun with wash, shave or dress when we want to show that the action is difficult.

E.g.

He had a broken arm, but he managed to dress himself.

Although Mary is only three, she can wash herself.

·                    we also use reflexive pronouns as the object of a preposition when the object refers to the subject of the clause:

E.g.

They had to cook for themselves.

He was feeling very sorry for himself.

Warning

But we use personal pronouns, not reflexives, after prepositions of place:

E.g.

He had a suitcase beside him.

They had footsteps behind them.

She had a pile of dishes in front of her.

·                   We often use reflexive pronouns with by to mean ‘alone’ or ‘without any help’, on one’s own.

He lived by himself in an enormous house.

She walked home by herself.

I prepared the whole meal by myself.

·                   We can use reflexive pronouns for emphasis. They emphasize the noun, or the fact that one person, and not another, performs an action.

Kendal itself is quite a small town.

Sir Paul McCartney himself sang the final song.

·                   We often put the reflexive pronoun at the end of the clause when we are using it for emphasis:

I baked the bread myself.

She mended the car herself.

Remember the following set phrases with reflexive pronouns:

Enjoy yourself! = Have a good time!

Behave yourself! = Be good!

Help yourself to cookies. = You’re welcome to take some cookies.

Make yourself at home. = Feel comfortable.

I like being by myself. = I like being alone.

She lives by herself. = She lives on her own.

Now it’s time to practice the rule.

Fill in: myself, yourself, himself, ourselves or yourselves.

Harry: Bye Mum. We’re going to Allan’s birthday party.

Mum: OK. Enjoy yourselves guys. And Harry, don’t eat too much cake or you’ll make yourself sick. Did you get him a present?

Harry: Yes, we did. Actually, Kate made it herself. What are you and Dad going to do this evening, Mum?

Mum: I’m going to buy myself some new clothes and Dad is going to study. He’s trying to teach himself French. Have a good time at the party but behave yourselves!

That`s all for today.

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