Reflexive Pronouns: When "Myself," "Yourself," and "Himself" Are Correct

Learn when to use reflexive pronouns correctly — myself, yourself, himself — with rules for emphasis, common mistakes, and exam-focused practice.

May 17, 2026 Updated on May 17, 2026 Nouns and Pronouns , Subject-Verb Agreement 6 min read

One of the most common pronoun errors in English:

❌ Myself Keshav.
✅ I am Keshav.

❌ Rahul and myself went to the store.
✅ Rahul and I went to the store.

Reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves) are not fancy replacements for regular pronouns. They have specific uses — and using them incorrectly is a clear sign of poor grammar.

Rule box: Use reflexive pronouns (1) when the subject and object are the same, (2) for emphasis (intensive use), or (3) in fixed expressions. Never use them as a substitute for I, me, he, she, etc.

Use	Example
Subject = Object	I hurt myself.
Emphasis	She herself completed the project.
Fixed expression	Help yourself. / Be yourself.

Subject Pronoun	Reflexive Pronoun
I	myself
you (singular)	yourself
he	himself
she	herself
it	itself
we	ourselves
you (plural)	yourselves
they	themselves
one	oneself

Use a reflexive pronoun when the subject and the object refer to the same person or thing.

I hurt myself. (I = myself)
She blamed herself for the mistake. (she = herself)
He taught himself to play guitar. (he = himself)
They enjoyed themselves at the party. (they = themselves)
The cat cleaned itself. (cat = itself)

Without the reflexive pronoun, the meaning changes:

I hurt me. (grammatically awkward — same meaning but non-standard)
She blamed her. (she blamed someone else)

A reflexive pronoun can be used immediately after the subject (or at the end of the clause) to add emphasis.

I myself saw the accident. (emphasis: I personally)
She herself completed the entire project. (emphasis: she, not someone else)
The president himself attended the meeting.
We ourselves are responsible for this.

The emphatic reflexive can be removed without changing the core meaning:

I saw the accident. (same meaning, less emphasis)
She completed the entire project. (same meaning, less emphasis)

Several common expressions use reflexive pronouns:

Help yourself. (take what you want)
Be yourself. (act naturally)
Make yourself at home. (feel comfortable)
I am not myself today. (not feeling normal)
She lives by herself. (alone)
They did it themselves. (without help)
Take care of yourself. (look after your health)
Enjoy yourself. (have a good time)

Error 1: Using myself instead of I/me

❌ Myself Keshav.
✅ I am Keshav.

❌ Rahul and myself went to the store.
✅ Rahul and I went to the store.

❌ Please contact myself if you have questions.
✅ Please contact me if you have questions.

Error 2: Using a regular pronoun when reflexive is needed

❌ I hurt me. (non-standard)
✅ I hurt myself.

❌ She looked at her in the mirror. (ambiguous — someone else?)
✅ She looked at herself in the mirror.

Error 3: Using reflexive when there is no antecedent

❌ Please send the report to myself.
✅ Please send the report to me.

❌ This is between you and myself.
✅ This is between you and me.

Is the subject the same as the object? → Use reflexive.
Are you adding emphasis? → Use reflexive after the subject.
Is it a fixed expression? → Use the reflexive form.
Are you trying to sound formal? → Don’t use myself instead of me/I. It sounds worse, not better.
Can you remove the reflexive without changing the core meaning? → It is emphatic, not essential.

I hurt myself. (subject = object)
She herself completed the project. (emphasis)
Help yourself. (fixed expression)
They enjoyed themselves. (subject = object)
The president himself was present. (emphasis)
He taught himself to code. (subject = object)
Make yourself at home. (fixed expression)
We ourselves are to blame. (emphasis)
She looked at herself in the mirror. (subject = object)
I am not myself today. (fixed expression)

❌ Myself and Rahul went to the store.
✅ Rahul and I went to the store.

Myself can never be the subject of a sentence.

❌ Send it to myself.
✅ Send it to me.

Use me after prepositions unless the subject is I.

✅ I myself saw it. (after subject)
✅ I saw it myself. (after verb — also acceptable)
❌ Myself, I saw it. (wrong position)

Wrong	Right	Why
Myself Keshav.	I am Keshav.	Myself cannot be subject.
Rahul and myself went.	Rahul and I went.	Use I, not myself.
Send it to myself.	Send it to me.	No reflexive antecedent.
I hurt me.	I hurt myself.	Subject = object → reflexive.

Choose the correct option or spot the error.

Please contact ___ . (me / myself)
She ___ completed the task. (her / herself)
Rahul and ___ went to the market. (I / myself)
Error spotting: Myself am responsible for this.
Error spotting: Please send the email to myself.
Error spotting: I cut me while cooking.
Fill in the blank: They enjoyed ___ at the party. (them / themselves)
Fill in the blank: The CEO ___ addressed the staff. (him / himself)
Rewrite correctly: Between you and myself, this is a bad idea.
Choose: He taught ___ to swim. (him / himself)

me — no reflexive antecedent.
herself — emphasis.
I — subject pronoun.
I am responsible for this. — myself cannot be subject.
Please send the email to me. — no reflexive antecedent.
I cut myself while cooking. — subject = object.
themselves — subject = object.
himself — emphasis.
Between you and me, this is a bad idea. — object pronoun after preposition.
himself — subject = object.

Rule: Use reflexive pronouns when subject = object, for emphasis, or in fixed expressions. Never use myself as a substitute for I or me — it is not more formal; it is wrong.

Memory trick: “Myself reflects. It bounces back to the subject. If there is no subject to bounce back to, don’t use it.”

Revise these:

I hurt myself. (subject = object)
She herself completed it. (emphasis)
Help yourself. (fixed expression)
Rahul and I went. (not “myself”)

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