Year 7 English: Use reflexive pronouns

What Are Reflexive Pronouns?

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject (the person or thing doing the action) and the object (the person or thing receiving the action) of a sentence are the same. In simple terms, reflexive pronouns show that someone is doing something to themselves.

The Reflexive Pronouns:

Here are the reflexive pronouns in English:

• I → myself
• You → yourself (singular) / yourselves (plural)
• He → himself
• She → herself
• It → itself
• We → ourselves
• They → themselves

When Do We Use Reflexive Pronouns?

1. When the subject and the object are the same
   Reflexive pronouns are used when the person doing the action is also the one receiving the action. Example:

• I cut myself while cooking.
  (Here, “I” am doing the action of cutting, and the action is affecting “me”.)
• She taught herself to play the piano.
  (She is doing the teaching and is also the one being taught.)

1. For emphasis
   Reflexive pronouns can also be used to emphasise that someone did something on their own or without help. Example:

• I built this model myself.
  (This emphasises that I didn’t need any help.)
• They cleaned the house themselves.
  (This shows that no one helped them; they did it alone.)

1. With certain verbs
   Some verbs are commonly used with reflexive pronouns. These include:

• Enjoy → I enjoyed myself at the party.
• Hurt → Be careful not to hurt yourself.
• Blame → Don’t blame yourself for the mistake.
• Introduce → He introduced himself to the class.

Key Rules for Reflexive Pronouns:

1. Reflexive pronouns always refer back to the subject of the sentence.
2. Reflexive pronouns are not used after verbs that naturally involve two people, like “meet” or “marry”. For example, it would be incorrect to say “I met myself.”
3. You do not use a reflexive pronoun after prepositions of place. For example:

• I took the book with me (not “with myself”).

1. Watch out for mistakes:

• Do not use reflexive pronouns just because they “sound” right. Only use them when the subject and the object are the same person or thing.

Tips and Tricks

• A reflexive pronoun reflects the subject, like a mirror reflects your image.
• Use reflexive pronouns when talking about actions you do to yourself, and for emphasis when you want to say you did something without any help.
• Avoid using reflexive pronouns after prepositions unless they refer back to the subject.

Questions

Easy Difficulty

1. What is the reflexive pronoun for “I”?
2. What is the reflexive pronoun for “you” (singular)?
3. What is the reflexive pronoun for “he”?
4. What is the reflexive pronoun for “she”?
5. What is the reflexive pronoun for “it”?
6. What is the reflexive pronoun for “we”?
7. What is the reflexive pronoun for “they”?
8. What is the plural reflexive pronoun for “you” (more than one person)?
9. What reflexive pronoun would you use in this sentence: “I hurt _“?
10. What reflexive pronoun would you use in this sentence: “She taught _ to play guitar”?
11. What reflexive pronoun would you use in this sentence: “They introduced _“?
12. Fill in the blank: “You should enjoy _ at the party.”
13. Fill in the blank: “He always blames _ when things go wrong.”
14. Fill in the blank: “The cat cleaned _.”
15. Which reflexive pronoun should be used in the sentence: “We organised the event by _“?
16. Fill in the blank: “She made the dress by _“.
17. What is the reflexive pronoun in this sentence: “I looked at myself in the mirror”?
18. What is the reflexive pronoun in this sentence: “They prided themselves on their work”?
19. True or False: “Himself” is the reflexive pronoun for “he”.
20. True or False: Reflexive pronouns can be used for emphasis.

Medium Difficulty

1. What is the reflexive pronoun in this sentence: “The dog hurt itself while playing”?
2. Fill in the blank: “The children taught _ to swim.”
3. What is the reflexive pronoun in this sentence: “We enjoyed ourselves at the beach”?
4. Which reflexive pronoun fits: “He introduced _ to the new classmates.”
5. Fill in the blank: “You should take care of _ when you’re sick.”
6. Is the following sentence correct? Why or why not: “He did it all by hisself.”
7. Fill in the blank: “I didn’t blame _ for the mistake.”
8. Which reflexive pronoun should you use: “They took it upon _ to finish the project.”
9. Fill in the blank: “The cat washed _ after eating.”
10. Which reflexive pronoun fits: “She decorated her room by _.”
11. True or False: Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and object of a sentence are the same.
12. Which reflexive pronoun fits: “You should treat _ to something nice once in a while.”
13. True or False: “Itself” is the reflexive pronoun for animals and things.
14. Is this sentence correct? “They found theirselves a nice spot.”
15. Which reflexive pronoun fits: “I helped _ to some cake.”
16. Fill in the blank: “The students organised the event by _.”
17. Which reflexive pronoun fits: “They prepared _ for the exam.”
18. Fill in the blank: “He looked at _ in the mirror before leaving.”
19. Which reflexive pronoun fits: “We told _ we could do it.”
20. Is the sentence correct? “They blame themselves for the accident.”

High Difficulty

1. Is this sentence correct? “She decided to do it by herselfs.”
2. Fill in the blank: “I think I will treat _ to a new book.”
3. What reflexive pronoun fits: “The committee prided _ on their success.”
4. Is this sentence correct? “He took a photo of hisself.”
5. Fill in the blank: “You have to believe in _ if you want to succeed.”
6. Which reflexive pronoun fits: “We managed to finish the project all by _.”
7. Is this sentence correct? “They hurt theirself while climbing.”
8. Fill in the blank: “She considered _ lucky to have found the ring.”
9. Is this sentence correct? Why or why not: “He taught hisself to play the piano.”
10. Which reflexive pronoun fits: “The students divided the work among _.”
11. Fill in the blank: “He took the time to introduce _ to everyone at the meeting.”
12. Which reflexive pronoun fits: “You will have to figure it out by _.”
13. Is this sentence correct? Why or why not: “They washed theirselves after the race.”
14. Which reflexive pronoun fits: “He congratulated _ on passing the exam.”
15. Fill in the blank: “The dog hurt _ while jumping the fence.”
16. Is the following sentence correct? “I cooked dinner by myself.”
17. Fill in the blank: “The team prepared _ for the competition.”
18. Which reflexive pronoun fits: “We reminded _ of the deadline.”
19. Is this sentence correct? “She taught herself how to sew.”
20. Fill in the blank: “The kids cleaned up after _.”

Answers

Easy Difficulty

1. Myself
2. Yourself
3. Himself
4. Herself
5. Itself
6. Ourselves
7. Themselves
8. Yourselves
9. Myself
10. Herself
11. Themselves
12. Yourself
13. Himself
14. Itself
15. Ourselves
16. Herself
17. Myself
18. Themselves
19. True
20. True

Medium Difficulty

1. Itself
2. Themselves
3. Ourselves
4. Himself
5. Yourself
6. No, the correct form is “himself”
7. Myself
8. Themselves
9. Itself
10. Herself
11. True
12. Yourself
13. True
14. No, it should be “themselves”
15. Myself
16. Themselves
17. Themselves
18. Himself
19. Ourselves
20. Yes

High Difficulty

1. No, it should be “herself”
2. Myself
3. Themselves
4. No, it should be “himself”
5. Yourself
6. Ourselves
7. No, it should be “themselves”
8. Herself
9. No, it should be “taught himself”
10. Themselves
11. Himself
12. Yourself
13. No, it should be “themselves”
14. Himself
15. Itself
16. Yes
17. Themselves
18. Ourselves
19. Yes
20. Themselves

By understanding how to use reflexive pronouns, you can make your sentences clearer and more accurate, ensuring that actions are properly described when someone is acting on themselves. Keep practising, and these will become second nature!