Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

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By Quintin Pennells

Pronoun Types

Lions and Lynx ELA

Personal Pronouns (Review)

• Personal pronouns are pronouns that are used to replace people, places, or things in a sentence.

• Personal pronouns can be in first, second, or third person.

• Personal pronouns can be singular or plural​.

Reflexive Pronouns

• Reflexive pronouns are pronouns that end in -self or -selves.

• A reflexive pronoun is used to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause in which it appears. It should agree with that subject.

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Examples:

We helped ourselves to some more soup.​

After the guests left, Amy made herself a cup of tea.

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A reflexive pronoun is used to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause in which it appears. It should agree with that subject.

Reflexive Pronouns

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Reflexive Pronouns

• A reflexive pronoun can only be used to refer to the subject of the sentence or clause in which it appears.

​Jake wrote a note for himself.

• The reflexive pronoun, himself, refers back to the subject, Jake.​

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Jake wrote a note for him.

• The personal pronoun, him, must refer to someone other than the subject, Jake.

Multiple Choice

Select the correct pronoun to complete the sentence.

Why are you distracting ____? I need to use Flex to get my work done!

• myself

• me

Multiple Choice

Select the correct pronoun to complete the sentence.

When Mr. and Mrs. Jordan retire, they plan to devote _____ to gardening and traveling.

• themselves

• itself

• ourselves

Multiple Choice

She's still sick, so we told ____ she should stay home.

• herself

• her

• she

Multiple Choice

Select the correct pronoun to complete the sentence.

Did you injure _____ during gym class today?

• himself

• yourself

• you

• your

Fill in the Blank

Complete the sentence with a pronoun that refers back to the subject in orange.

Snakes defend ______ with several different strategies. Some hide by burrowing under sand or leaves, while others try to scare potential predators by hissing loudly.

Fill in the Blank

Complete the sentence with a pronoun that refers back to the subject in orange.

If we earn Distinguished Honor Roll, we should reward ____ with ice cream!

• Intensive pronouns emphasize, or intensify, the noun or pronoun they refer to. They can refer to any noun or pronoun in the sentence, not just a subject.

• Intensive pronouns are used for emphasis only — they are not objects of verbs or prepositions.

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Examples:

No one else was home, so I brought in the groceries myself.

The intensive pronoun myself emphasizes the pronoun I.

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After waiting all afternoon, we were finally able to meet the queen herself.

The intensive pronoun herself emphasizes the noun queen.

Intensive Pronouns

• One way to tell if a pronoun is reflexive or intensive is to try replacing it with an object pronoun, like me, her, or us.

  • If you can replace it with an object pronoun and still have a complete sentence, it is reflexive.

  • If you can't, it is intensive.

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Reflexive vs. Intensive Pronouns

​Did Sarah save any of the cookies for herself?

Did Sarah save any of the cookies for him?

• You can replace herself with the object pronoun him and still have a sentence. This tells you that the pronoun is reflexive.

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No one else was home, so I brought in the groceries myself.

No one else was home, so I brought in the groceries her.

• You can't replace myself with the object pronoun her. The second sentence doesn't work. This tells you that the pronoun is intensive.​

Reflexive vs. Intensive Pronouns

Multiple Choice

Is the pronoun in red reflexive or intensive?

Were you able to figure out the equation yourself, or did you need help?

• reflexive

• intensive

Multiple Choice

Is the pronoun in red reflexive or intensive?

You should give yourself a treat for making Honor Roll every marking period.

• reflexive

• intensive

Multiple Choice

Is the pronoun in red reflexive or intensive?

Miss Hopkins taught us how to make waffles, and now I can make them myself.

• reflexive

• intensive

Multiple Choice

Is the pronoun in red reflexive or intensive?

The decision itself is yours to make.

• reflexive

• intensive