Intensive or Reflexive Pronouns—What They’re for and Where NOT to Put Them

Intensive or reflexive refers to a single group of pronouns that people often sprinkle around where they’re not needed: “myself,” “yourself,” “himself,” “herself,” “itself,” “ourselves,” “yourselves,” and “themselves.” The labels intensive and re¬flexive are handy because they refer to the only situations in which these pronouns can be correctly used.

❑ Intensive usage is just like it sounds: adding emphasis, or intensity, to the subject as a way to reinforce the idea that it’s that person who’s involved and not someone else. For example:

You yourself should go there.

I will keep it myself.

The mountain itself caused his fall.

❑ Reflexive usage is when the pronoun reflects the action of the verb back onto the subject. Think of it as one greedy person or thing who’s playing the role of both subject and ob¬ject in the sentence. For example:

I hit myself in the knee.

She warned herself not to do it.

The garden renewed itself every spring.

The basic rule with intensive and reflective pronouns is that they can ONLY be used in these intensive and reflexive situations. They cannot be used where an ordinary pronoun, such as “I,” “me,” “she,” or “it,” would do the job.

Let’s look at some errors that people make with these pronouns.


Me vs. Myself

Don’t Say: Thank you for inviting Jack and myself.
Say Instead: Thank you for inviting Jack and me.

Here’s Why: The pronoun “myself” is not attached in any way to the subject of the sentence here, which is “you,” and that’s a sign of trouble. It’s not intensifying the subject or re¬flecting the action of the verb “inviting” back onto the subject. So the penalty flag is down. Substituting “myself’ when the personal pronoun “me” will suffice occurs a lot when people think that “me” sounds funny or that “myself” sounds more elegant and formal. Don’t give in to temptation.

Mnemonic Tip: If a personal pronoun such as “me” or “I” gets the idea across, even if it sounds funny, use it. It’ll be correct.