Reflexive vs.

Intensive Pronouns
You can tell the difference between a reflexive pronoun and an intensive pronoun easily: Intensive
pronouns aren’t essential to a sentence’s basic meaning. Understanding this basic difference will help to
prevent you from confusing the two.

Both intensive and reflexive pronouns end in the suffix –self or –selves, however reflexive pronouns are
always objects that refer to a sentence’s subject. The following example shows a reflexive pronoun in
action:

Jim made himself coffee.

Without the reflexive pronoun himself, it would be impossible for the reader to know who Jim made
coffee for.

In the next example, himself is used as an intensive pronoun. The reader would be able to understand
the sentence’s complete meaning without this pronoun, but it serves to add emphasis:

Jim made coffee for the king himself.

Here, himself refers to the king rather than to Jim. The reader is meant to be impressed that Jim made
coffee for the king.

Common Intensive Pronouns

The following list contains the most commonly used examples of intensive pronouns.

Himself
Herself
Yourself
Themselves
Ourselves
Intensive pronouns might not be necessary, but they serve the important function of making your
writing more interesting as well as more meaningful, particularly in formal situations. Use them
sparingly to ensure that the emphasis they provide isn’t lost.

Intensive Pronoun Examples

Intensive pronouns are used to add emphasis to statements. In the following examples, the intensive
pronouns have been italicized for ease of identification.

Jesse wondered aloud whether he himself was the only one seeing what was happening.
Maria knew that she herself could make a positive impact on the world, if only she put her mind to it.

You yourself can easily transform your body: All it takes is a proper diet and plenty of exercise.
The team knew that they themselves were responsible for playing their best.
We ourselves are the ones who make the greatest impact upon the world we live in.
Intensive Pronoun Exercises
Choose the correct intensive pronoun to fill the blank in each sentence.
We built a garden shed by ______________.
Myself
Ourselves
Themselves
Himself
Jordan made _____________ a sandwich, complete with pickles.
Ourselves
Yourself
Himself
Themselves
I’m a little nervous about walking by _____________ after dark.
Myself
Ourselves
Themselves
Herself

The twins are growing up fast; they’re already walking by _____________.

Myself
Ourselves
Himself
Themselves
Jennifer sewed her dress ____________.
Myself
Himself
Ourselves
Herself
Answer Key

B – We built a garden shed by ourselves.

C – Jordan made himself a sandwich, complete with pickles.
A – I’m a little nervous about walking by myself after dark.

D – The twins are growing up fast; they’re already walking by themselves.

D – Jennifer sewed her dress herself.

Intensive vs. Reflexive Pronoun Exercises

Identify the italicized word as either a reflexive pronoun or an intensive pronoun.

Ben built a boat for himself

Reflexive pronoun

Intensive pronoun

My mother bakes our family’s bread herself.

Reflexive pronoun

Intensive pronoun

The mayor herself appeared at the rally.

Reflexive pronoun

Intensive pronoun

Answer Key

A – Reflexive pronoun

B – Intensive pronoun

B – Intensive pronoun

What Are Intensive Pronouns? (with Examples)

The intensive pronouns (also called emphatic pronouns) are myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself,
ourselves, yourselves, and themselves.

These words can be either intensive pronouns or reflexive pronouns.

This page is about their use as intensive pronouns.

Using Intensive Pronouns

An intensive pronoun refers back to another noun (or pronoun) in the sentence to emphasize it. For
example:

The mayor himself attended the ceremony.

(The mayor is the noun being intensified. It is called the antecedent of the intensive pronoun.)

When used for emphasis, a word like himself is called an intensive pronoun (which is also known as an
emphatic pronoun).

Examples of Intensive Pronouns

Here are some examples of intensive pronouns:

She will do it herself.

(The intensive pronoun herself emphasizes that she will do it. Her husband won't do it. Her son won't do
it. SHE will do it.)
The boys baked these scones themselves.

(The intensive pronoun themselves emphasizes that the boys baked the scones, i.e., not their mothers.)

I heard the lie myself.

(The intensive pronoun myself emphasizes that I heard the lie.)

Note: It's not always about people:

The dog opened the cupboard itself.

You can test if it's an intensive pronoun by removing it and seeing if you get the same effect by
emphasizing the thing you're trying to emphasize with your voice (shown here in uppercase).

SHE will do it.

I heard the lie.

THE DOG opened the cupboard.