Verbs commonly
followed by reflexive pronouns: 'I enjoyed myself'
1)
Myself, yourself,
himself, herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves are
reflexive pronouns. There aren't many verbs in English which we must
always use with reflexive pronouns: absent oneself, avail oneself (of) and
pride oneself (on):
Monica absented
herself from work. Jim prides himself on his cooking.
2)
We often use
reflexive pronouns with these verbs: amuse, blame, cut, dry, enjoy, hurt, and
introduce: I've cut myself with the bread knife.
We can use these verbs without
reflexive pronouns if we want to: I've cut my thumb.
We can use object pronouns (me,
him, her, etc.) after these verbs only when we refer to
someone else: He amused me
(but not *I amused me// cut me: etc.)
Write: Supply the correct
reflexive pronouns in the following.
1 I enjoyed…myself…very much at the party.
2 1 see you've
cut...................................again. Won't you ever learn how to shave?
3 How did Tom
dry..................................? - He used your towel!
4 She has no reason
to blame ................................for what has happened.
5 I think that poor
dog has hurt..................................
6 'One prides
.................................. on one's patience,' the boss said, in his
usual pompous manner.
7 We amused
.................................. playing football on the beach.
8 Our new
neighbours knocked at our door and introduced..................................
9 Sheila prides
.................................on her ability to judge people's characters.
10 Bill had to
absent .................................. from work when his baby was born.
Verb + reflexive, or
not?: 'I've dressed (myself)'
1)
We sometimes add reflexive pronouns after
verbs like dress, hide, shave and wash for emphasis or to show
that something has been done with an effort. For example, if we are referring
to a child, we might say: Polly's now learnt how to dress herself, but
we could also say: Polly has now learnt how to dress. (without herself).
The choice is ours.
2)
Verbs such as get
up, sit down, stand up, wake up and get wet, get tired, get dressed, get
married are not normally reflexive
in English: I sat down with difficulty.
We might use a reflexive only for
emphasis.
I sat myself down with difficulty.
Write: Write these
sentences again using reflexive pronouns with the verbs.
1 We didn't know
where to hide… We didn't know
where to hide ourselves.
2 That kitten now washes
every day. .....................................................................................................
3 She's just
learning how to dress. ........................................................................................................
4 We sat down and
waited.
....................................................................................................................
5 I got wet watering
the garden.
............................................................................................................
6 I woke up with
a start.
.........................................................................................................................
7 Barry has just got
engaged. ................................................................................................................
8 Get ready quickly!
...............................................................................................................................
Reflexive
pronouns used after prepositions and for emphasis
1)
We can use reflexive pronouns:
- after a preposition: Look after
yourself! Take care of yourself!
- in fixed expressions: strictly
between ourselves, just among ourselves, in itself.
2)
We use object pronouns when we refer to:
- place: Have you got any money on
you? (Not 'Have you got any money on yourself?')
- after with (= accompanied
by): I brought the children with me. (Not *with myself')
3)
We use by + reflexive to mean 'without help' or
'alone':
She made the dress
by herself. (=
without help) She lives by herself. (= alone)
4)
We sometimes use reflexive pronouns after nouns and
pronouns for emphasis to mean 'that personal thing and only that personal thing':
The film itself
is very good. You yourself saw it.
The reflexive pronoun can also go
at the end of a sentence or clause:
You saw what happened yourself.
Or:
You yourself saw what happened.
Write: Rewrite these
sentences using reflexive pronouns for emphasis.
1 I didn't know about it till yesterday… I didn't
know about it myself till yesterday.
2 The building is
all right, I think.
........................................................................................
3 You can't
do that!
........................................................................................
4 I can't fetch it
- you fetch it.
.......................................................................................
5 Don't expect me to
do it. Do it!
..........................................................................................
