Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns in English (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves) are used with verbs to show that the subject and object are the same person.
However, with some advanced verbs, adding a reflexive pronoun changes the meaning completely.
For example, excuse means “forgive”, but excuse yourself means “leave politely”. These structures are common in formal English, business English, news articles, academic writing, and advanced spoken English.
Basic Structure
Subject + verb + reflexive pronoun
- Sam blamed himself for the accident. He knew it was his fault.
- Jenny’s mother called her to say her small child was ill, so Jenny excused herself and left the meeting.
- Some people have fooled themselves into thinking they will get rich from cryptocoin.
Question form
Question word + auxiliary + subject + verb + reflexive pronoun?
- Your finger is bleeding. Have you cut yourself?
- (A) „How did the firewoman distinguish herself?” (B) „She rescued 5 people from a burning building.”
- (A) „Why did Jenny excuse herself from the meeting?” (B) „Her child was sick.”
When the Meaning Changes
Some English verbs have a different meaning when followed by a reflexive pronoun.
Resign → Resign Yourself (accept a bad situation)
- Sam resigned after his boss called him a liar.
- The office is closing and we’re all losing our jobs. There is no hope. We’ve resigned ourselves to it.
- My wife says she’s leaving me and she won’t change her mind. So, I’ve resigned myself to it.
- The criminal knew he was guilty and resigned himself to life in prison for a few years.
Deny → Deny Yourself (not use or consume)
- Tim denied eating my sandwich.
- The professional footballer denied herself junk food and alcohol.
- I’m on a diet so I’m denying myself sweets and chocolate and cheese.
- The decadent billionaire denied himself nothing and lived like a King.
Suit → Suit Yourself (do what you want)
- That blouse really suits you. You look nice.
- Jack is quite selfish and always suits himself. He does what’s best for him.
- You don’t want a cup of tea? OK, suit yourself. (Do what is best for you)
Contain → Contain Yourself (control your emotions)
- This sandwich contains nuts.
- When I heard I had won the lottery, I couldn’t contain myself! I started shouting and jumping up and down.
- The small kids struggled to contain themselves when Santa arrived. They were so excited!
Distinguish → Distinguish Yourself (get noticed)
- Jim is colour blind so he can’t distinguish between red and green.
- Sam distinguished himself on the „Arka” project. His work was superb and the boss loved it.
- The young policeman got a promotion after distinguishing himself in an undercover operation.
Forget → Forget Yourself (lose your inhibitions)
- I forgot about the meeting. My boss was really angry.
- After a couple of glasses of wine, Jill forgot herself. She totally relaxed, and started chatting and laughing, and telling jokes.
- At the office party, Frank forgot himself and started dancing on top of the printer.
TEST TIME
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