Unit 82. Myself / yourself / themselves etc.
Unit 82; Part A
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The reflexive pronouns are: singular: myself yourself (one person) himself/herself/itself plural: ourselves yourselves (more than one person) themselves • I don't want you to pay for me. I'll pay for myself. (not I'll pay for me) • Julia had a great holiday. She really enjoyed herself. • Do you talk to yourself sometimes? (said to one person) • If you want more to eat, help yourselves. (said to more than one person) Compare: • It's not our fault. You can't blame us. • It's our own fault. We should blame ourselves. |
Unit 82; Part B

• I feel nervous. I can't relax.
• You must try and concentrate. (not concentrate yourself)
• What time shall we meet? (not meet ourselves, not meet us)
We normally use wash/shave/dress without myself etc. :
• He got up, washed, shaved and dressed. (not washed himself etc.)
You can also say get dressed (He got dressed).
Unit 82; Part C
![]() ![]() • Kate and Joe stood in front of the mirror and looked at themselves. (= Kate and Joe looked at Kate and Joe) • Kate looked at Joe; Joe looked at Kate. They looked at each other. You can use one another instead of each other: • How long have you and Bill known each other? or ... known one another? • Sue and Ann don't like each other. or ... don't like one another. • Do you and Sarah live near each other? or ... near one another? |
Unit 82; Part D

• 'Who repaired your bike for you?' 'I repaired it myself.'
I repaired it myself = I repaired it, not anybody else. Here, myself is used to emphasise 'I' (= it makes it stronger).
Some more examples:
• I'm not going to do your work for you. You can do it yourself. (= you, not me)
• Let's paint the house ourselves. It will be much cheaper.
• The film itself wasn't very good, but I loved the music.
• I don't think Liz will get the job. Liz herself doesn't think she'll get it. (or Liz doesn't think she'll get it herself.)
Exercises
![]() | Unit 81 Unit 82 Unit 83 | ![]() |