GRAMMAR REVIEW! REFLEXIVE VS. EMPHATIC PRONOUNS
Reflexive Pronouns = "do something to yourself"
They reflect the action back to the subject.
Form: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
Use when the subject and object are the same.
Examples:
I taught myself Spanish. (I → myself)
She cut herself.
They prepared themselves for the exam.
TIP: If you remove the pronoun, the sentence becomes incomplete or changes meaning.
I taught ___ Spanish → wrong
So "myself" is necessary → reflexive.
Emphatic (Intensive) Pronouns = "for emphasis only"
Same words as reflexives, but used only to add emphasis.
Examples:
I did it myself!
The teacher herself explained it.
The CEO himself approved the plan.
TIP: If you remove the pronoun, the sentence STILL makes sense.
I did it! → still correct
So "myself" is just emphasis → emphatic.
Check out some of our other free exercises on pronouns in English:
Personal (subject) Pronouns 1 (B)
Personal (subject) Pronouns 2 (B)
Possessive Pronouns 1 (B)
Possessive Pronouns/Adjectives 1 (I)
Indefinite Pronouns 1 (B/I)
Indefinite Pronouns 2 (B/I)
Reflexive Pronouns 1 (B)
REFLEXIVE pronoun or OBJECT pronoun? 1 (B)
Direct object pronouns 1 (B)
Relative pronouns 1 (A)
Relative Pronouns 2 (I)
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