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Teacher cue
B1 · English Grammar

Reflexive
Pronouns

I cut myself. She did it herself.

myself / yourself himself / herself ourselves / themselves
The forms

One for each subject pronoun

I
myself
I cut myself while cooking.
you (sing.)
yourself
Did you enjoy yourself?
he / she / it
himself / herself / itself
He made himself a sandwich.
we / you (pl.) / they
ourselves / yourselves / themselves
We enjoyed ourselves.
Use 1 — same person

Subject and object refer to the same person

I see myself as a professional person.
She blamed herself for the mistake.
He hurt himself during training.
The machine switches itself off.
Use 2 — emphasis

Alone, without help

Did you build the fan club yourself, or did you have help? (at the end)
She decorated the apartment herself.
We cooked the entire meal ourselves.
💡 Tip

No reflexive with these verbs

I relaxed on the beach. (not relaxed myself)
Sit down and concentrate. (not concentrate yourself)
I remember that day. (not remember myself)
We met at university. (not met ourselves)
⚠ Watch out

Common mistakes

He hurt hisself.

He hurt himself.

They did it theirself.

They did it themselves.

Yourself should try harder.

You should try harder. (reflexive ≠ subject)

We enjoyed ourself.

We enjoyed ourselves.

Now it's your turn

Let's
practice.

Say the answer out loud — then tap to check.

Practice 1
tap the blank to reveal

Choose the reflexive pronoun

I cut(I)while slicing the bread.
She introduced(she)to the new team.
Did you enjoy(you)at the party?
They built the house(they)over two years.
We found(we)completely lost in the city.
Practice 2
tap a sentence to reveal the error

Spot the mistake

The children madeA theirselvesB sandwiches andC ate them inD the garden.

Btheirselves → themselves

✓ themselves, never theirselves

She taught herselfA Italian byB watching films, andC now she is fluent on itD.

Dis fluent on it → is fluent in it

✓ fluent in a language

I hurt meA whileB I was cutting the vegetables, soC my father droveD me to the clinic.

AI hurt me → I hurt myself

✓ same subject and object → reflexive

Practice 3
tap to reveal a model answer

Complete the sentence

She decorated the entire apartment
He made himself
We found ourselves
Help yourselves to
Speak & write

Your turn

Use a reflexive pronoun in each answer.

Have you ever hurt yourself doing something? What happened?
Tell me something you taught yourself — a skill, a language…
Did you enjoy yourself on your last vacation? Why/why not?
Describe something you did entirely by yourself that you're proud of.
Recap

Remember this

Use 1
subject = object (same person)
Use 2
emphasis — alone, without help
he → himself
not "hisself" ✗
they → themselves
not "theirself" ✗

Match the reflexive to the subject — every single time.

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