KrumetoName ____________________Date __________

Reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, each other

B1 · 39 exercises

The rule in short

Myself, yourself, themselves and the rest: when the object is the same person as the subject, for emphasis, in by myself and enjoy yourself, and when to use each other instead. Also the common verbs that take no reflexive pronoun in English.

Subject	Object	Reflexive	Example
I	me	myself	I cut myself.
you (one person)	you	yourself	Look after yourself.
he	him	himself	He taught himself.
she	her	herself	She blamed herself.
it	it	itself	The cat washed itself.
we	us	ourselves	We enjoyed ourselves.
you (more than one)	you	yourselves	Help yourselves.
they	them	themselves	They hurt themselves.

Singular forms end in -self, plural forms in -selves. The first part is my, your and our, but him, it and them, so hisself and theirselves are not standard English. You has two reflexive forms: yourself for one person, yourselves for a group. For one person whose gender is not known or not given, some speakers say themself and others themselves (Someone has locked themselves out); the exercises do not test this use.

After a verb or a preposition. Use the reflexive form when the object is the subject again: Anna burned herself on the oven, Tom is angry with himself, Take care of yourself. After a preposition of place (next to, behind, near, and with in the sense "carrying"), English normally uses the ordinary object pronoun instead: Tom put his bag next to him, I didn't have my keys with me.

Emphasis. Put the pronoun at the end of the clause or straight after the noun: We painted the kitchen ourselves means that nobody did it for us. The sentence is complete without the pronoun; it only adds weight.

By myself means "alone" or "without help": Can you carry that box by yourself? On my own means the same.

Fixed phrases. Enjoy yourself means "have a good time", help yourself means "take some food or drink, you don't need to ask", and behave yourself means "be good", usually said to children. Enjoy normally needs an object: We enjoyed ourselves or We enjoyed the party.

Each other. Tom and Anna looked at each other means that Tom looked at Anna and Anna looked at Tom. Tom and Anna looked at themselves means that each of them looked at his or her own face, for example in a mirror. One another means the same as each other and sounds a little more formal.

Verbs with no reflexive pronoun. These verbs normally take no pronoun in English: feel, relax, meet, concentrate, worry, remember, hurry, sit down, get up, wake up. Wash, shave and dress are usually used alone too (Tom shaved and dressed quickly). You usually add the pronoun when it matters that the person can do it alone, for example a small child: She can dress herself now. Both are correct English.

Examples

Be careful with that knife, or you'll cut yourself.
Tom taught himself Spanish with films and songs.
Anna looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.
We introduced ourselves to our new neighbours.
The door locks itself at night.
I didn't buy this cake. I baked it myself.
The director herself answered my email, not her assistant.
Come in, both of you, and help yourselves to some soup.
Tom and Anna have known each other for ten years.
The players were very proud of themselves after the match.

Lesson: “Reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, each other” (B1), Krumeto · https://krumeto.com/grammar/reflexive-pronouns · written for Krumeto with the help of AI tools · Worksheet: krumeto.com

KrumetoReflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, each otherName ____________________

Exercises

A. Choose the right word.

Anna weighed ___ after the holiday. → herself

Tom fell off the ladder and hurt ________. (him / himself / hisself)
We had a great time on holiday. We really enjoyed ________. (us / ourself / ourselves)
The children cleaned the kitchen ________. Nobody helped them. (themselves / theirselves / themself)
Anna, did you make this dress ________? (yourself / herself / yourselves)
I'm going to make ________ a cup of tea. (me / myself / I)

B. Choose the right word: a reflexive pronoun, an object pronoun or each other.

Tom was at home and Anna was at work. They sent ________ messages all afternoon. (each other / themselves / them)
Tom didn't study, and he failed the test. Now he is angry with ________. (him / himself)
Anna went out and closed the door quietly behind ________. (her / herself)
My brother and I don't look like ________ at all. He is tall and I am short. (each other / ourselves / us)
Is it raining? I don't have an umbrella with ________. (me / myself)

C. Complete the sentences with a reflexive pronoun (myself, yourself, himself and so on).

Anna wanted something nice after a hard week, so she bought ________ a new coat.
Tom, the pan is very hot. Don't burn ________.
My grandparents are over eighty, but they still look after ________.
It's a long way to the station. Can you get there by ________?
We finished the race in under an hour. We were really proud of ________.

D. Choose the right words. Some of these verbs need a reflexive pronoun and some do not.

I ________ really tired after the long drive. (feel / feel myself)
Let's ________ outside the library at five. (meet / meet ourselves)
Anna ________ on some broken glass in the garden. (cut / cut herself)
The children ________ at the beach. (enjoyed / enjoyed themselves)
I can't ________ where I put my glasses. (remember / remember myself)
Tom stood up and ________ to the other guests. (introduced / introduced himself)

E. Rewrite the sentences with the words in brackets.

I don't like eating in restaurants alone. (by + a reflexive pronoun)
Tom helped Anna, and Anna helped Tom. (each other)
Anna writes to me, and I write to Anna, every month. (each other)
The chef cooked our meal. He didn't ask another cook to do it. (himself; write one sentence)

F. Put the words in order. Use all the words.

made / a / herself / Anna / sandwich
other / more / don't / trust / any / each / they
himself / to / Tom / why / talking / is

G. Correct the mistakes. Change only what is wrong. Two of the sentences are already right: keep them as they are.

I can't concentrate myself with all this noise.
My parents met themselves at university.
Tom shaved, had a shower and went to work.
The children built the snowman theirselves.
Anna and Tom smiled at themselves across the table.
When I travel, I always keep my passport with myself.
Did you make these biscuits yourself?

H. Match the sentences with their meanings.

1. Tom and Anna blamed themselves. ____
2. Tom and Anna blamed each other. ____
3. Anna lives by herself. ____
4. Behave yourselves. ____
1. a) Tom said Anna was wrong, and Anna said Tom was wrong.
2. b) Tom said he was wrong, and Anna said she was wrong.
3. c) Nobody lives with her.
4. d) Be good and polite. (to two or more children)

KrumetoReflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, each otherAnswer key

Answer key

A. I → myself, you → yourself (one) or yourselves (more), he → himself, she → herself, it → itself, we → ourselves, they → themselves.

himself
ourselves
themselves
yourself
myself

B. Use a reflexive pronoun when the object is the same person as the subject. After a preposition of place, use me, him, her… When two people do something to the other one, use each other.

each other
himself
her
each other
me

C. The reflexive pronoun matches the subject: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

herself
yourself
themselves
yourself / yourselves
ourselves

D. Feel, meet, remember, relax, concentrate and worry normally take no reflexive pronoun. In these sentences cut, enjoy and introduce need an object, and when the object is the subject, it is a reflexive pronoun.

feel
meet
cut herself
enjoyed themselves
remember
introduced himself

E. By myself = alone. Each other = each person does it to the other. An emphatic pronoun (himself) goes straight after the noun or at the end of the clause.

I don't like eating in restaurants by myself.
Tom and Anna helped each other. / Anna and Tom helped each other.
Anna and I write to each other every month. / We write to each other every month.
The chef himself cooked our meal. / The chef cooked our meal himself.

F. A reflexive pronoun or each other usually comes straight after the verb or the preposition. An emphatic pronoun can also stand at the end of the clause.

Anna made herself a sandwich. / Anna made a sandwich herself.
They don't trust each other any more.
Why is Tom talking to himself?

G. No reflexive pronoun after feel, meet, concentrate and similar verbs. Themselves, not theirselves. Each other when two people do something to the other one. Me, him, her after prepositions of place.

I can't concentrate with all this noise.
My parents met at university. / My parents met each other at university.
Tom shaved, had a shower and went to work. (✓) — This sentence is right: shave is usually used without a reflexive pronoun.
The children built the snowman themselves.
Anna and Tom smiled at each other across the table. / Anna and Tom smiled at one another across the table.
When I travel, I always keep my passport with me.
Did you make these biscuits yourself? (✓) — This sentence is right: yourself matches you (one person) and stresses that nobody helped.

H. Themselves: each person does it to himself or herself. Each other: each person does it to the other one. By herself: alone. Behave yourselves: be good.

1 b · 2 a · 3 c · 4 d