Join In
Twitter
YouTube
Weekly Newsletter
Libraries
A-Z Grammatical Terms
A-Z Confused Words
FAQs by Writers
A-Z Awkward Plurals
Punctuation Lessons
Common Mistakes
(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
for your browser
(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
for your browser
Reflexive Pronouns
What Are Reflexive Pronouns? (with Examples)
The reflexive pronouns are myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves. A reflexive pronoun is used when something does something to itself. For example:- John pinched himself. (The reflexive pronoun himself tells us that John did something to John.)
- John pinched her. (There is no reflexive pronoun in this example. John did something to someone else, not to himself.)
Table of Contents
- Examples of Reflexive Pronouns
- Identifying Reflexive Pronouns
- Real-Life Examples of Reflexive Pronouns
- Find the "Reflexive Pronouns" Test
- Why Reflexive Pronouns Are Important
- Printable Test

Examples of Reflexive Pronouns
Below are some examples of reflexive pronouns. Using a reflexive pronoun means you do not have to repeat the subject (shown here in bold). (Repeating the subject would be clumsy.)- Alison still does not trust herself. (Alison does not trust Alison.)
- The members argued amongst themselves for an hour. (The members argued amongst the members.)
- We often ask ourselves why we left London. (We often ask us.)
Identifying Reflexive Pronouns
In most sentences, somebody does something to someone else. For example:- I like him.
- He spoke to her.
- She thumped him.
- The dog bit her.




Real-Life Examples of Reflexive Pronouns
Here are some real examples of reflexive pronouns:- I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation.
- We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people. (Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860)
- If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can't be done. (Peter Ustinov, 1921-2004)
- If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must man be of learning from experience. (George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950)
- The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool. (Jane Wagner)
- Never express yourself more clearly than you are able to think. (Danish physicist Niels Bohr)
- The ability of you to delude yourself may be an important survival tool.
- [You should] never express yourself more clearly than you are able to think.
Find the "Reflexive Pronouns" Test
Click on the Two Reflexive Pronouns
(Interactive Game)
There is one common mistake involving reflexive pronoun and one not-so-common, but bad, one.
(Mistake 1) Do not use a reflexive pronoun if the subject is not doing something to itself.
The most common mistake involving reflexive pronouns is using one when the subject of the verb is not doing something to itself. For example:- He did it to myself.
- I did it to myself.
- He did it to himself.
- He insulted the doctor and myself.
- Please pass any comments to the director or myself.
Remember that you cannot be the antecedent of myself. Only I can be the antecedent of myself.)
- He insulted the doctor and me.
(but a little awkward sounding)
- Please pass any comments to the director or me.
but a little awkward sounding
- He insulted me and the doctor.
(and nicer on the ear)
- Please pass any comments to me or the director.
(and nicer on the ear)
Here's the bottom line, you can only use the word myself when the subject is I.
- I hate myself.
- I asked myself a question.
- I did it myself.
(Mistake 2) Don't write hisself.
Don't write hisself or hiself...ever. The reflexive pronoun for he is himself. There is no such word as hisself or hiself.- Myself and yourself are not highbrow alternatives for me and you.
- Hiself and hisself are not words. Use himself.
Help Us Improve Grammar Monster
- Do you disagree with something on this page?
- Did you spot a typo?
Find Us Quicker!
- When using a search engine (e.g., Google, Bing), you will find Grammar Monster quicker if you add #gm to your search term.