The Grammar Business Part Two

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The Grammar BusinessPart Two

• 5. Reflexive pronouns
• when not to use them

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Reflexive pronouns are

• myself
• yourself
• himself/herself
• itself
• yourselves
• ourselves
• themselves

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They refer back to the subject of the sentence

• I am not so sure myself.
• She herself has no idea who her father is.
• He dressed himself carefully.
• We didnt arrive ourselves until much, much
  later.
• You think Im beautiful? Youre beautiful
  yourself.

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Common error

• Using the reflexive pronoun instead of the
  personal pronoun as the object of the sentence
• e.g. He gave it to myself
• Which should be He gave it to me.

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So its wrong to say

• Jane was very sure of myself
• It doesnt make sense.
• Jane can be sure of herself, but not of myself.
• The reflexive pronoun has to agree with the
  subject of the sentence, which in this case, is
  Jane.

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It is correct to say

• Jane was very sure of herself - and very sure of
  me.
• She was fooling herself actually, but she wasnt
  fooling me.
• Thats what I told myself at the time.
• Later, it transpired that we had both, to some
  extent, been deceiving ourselves.

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And it is correct to say

• My friend and I went out on Saturday.
• But not
• My friend and myself went out on Saturday.

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Whats wrong with this one?

• He gave a cheque to her and to myself.

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It should be

• He gave a cheque to her and to me.

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Correct the following sentences, then compare
what youve got with the answers on the next slide

• He hit her, but neither myself, nor Jeremy.
• The Prime Minister has informed myself of the
  seriousness of the situation.
• The slug has slimed itself and myself too.
• The King and myself are delighted to meet
  yourselves.
• He has informed himself but not yourselves of the
  situation.

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Answers below

• He hit her, but neither me, nor Jeremy.
• The Prime Minister has informed me of the
  seriousness of the situation.
• The slug has slimed itself and me too.
• The King and I are delighted to meet you.
• He has informed himself but not you of the
  situation.