Understand what is an emphatic pronoun and its types, formation, placement, and usage with engaging examples.
What is an Emphatic Pronoun
An emphatic pronoun is a type of pronoun that is used to emphasize or draw attention to the noun it refers to in a sentence. It is used to add emphasis or stress to a particular subject or object. Emphatic pronouns are formed by adding the suffix “-self” (singular) or “-selves” (plural) to personal pronouns.
For example, consider the sentence: “I will do it myself.” In this sentence, the word “myself” is an emphatic pronoun because it emphasizes that the speaker will personally perform the action.
Emphatic pronouns are used when we want to highlight the importance or significance of the subject or object in a sentence. They help to convey a sense of strong emphasis or self-reliance.
List of emphatic pronouns
Here is a list of emphatic pronouns:
- Myself
- Yourself
- Himself
- Herself
- Itself
- Ourselves
- Yourselves
- Themselves
Types of Emphatic Pronouns
There are two types of emphatic pronouns: personal emphatic pronouns and reflexive emphatic pronouns.
Personal Emphatic Pronouns:
Personal emphatic pronouns are used to emphasize or draw attention to a specific person or thing. They are formed by adding the suffix “-self” (singular) or “-selves” (plural) to personal pronouns. Here are the examples:
Singular Personal Emphatic Pronouns:
- Myself: I will do it myself.
- Yourself: You can solve it yourself.
- Himself: He fixed the car himself.
- Herself: She prepared the meal herself.
- Itself: The cat cleaned itself.
Plural Personal Emphatic Pronouns:
- Ourselves: We built the house ourselves.
- Yourselves: You should be proud of yourselves.
- Themselves: They completed the project themselves.
Personal emphatic pronouns are used to emphasize that the action or responsibility is done by the person or people themselves, rather than someone else.
Reflexive Emphatic Pronouns:
Reflexive emphatic pronouns are used when the subject and the object of a sentence refer to the same person or thing. They also serve to emphasize the action or show that the action is directed back onto the subject. Here are the examples:
Singular Reflexive Emphatic Pronouns:
- Myself: I hurt myself while playing.
- Yourself: Be kind to yourself.
- Himself: He congratulated himself on his success.
- Herself: She believed in herself and achieved her goals.
- Itself: The book opened by itself.
Plural Reflexive Emphatic Pronouns:
- Ourselves: We reminded ourselves of the deadline.
- Yourselves: You need to take care of yourselves.
- Themselves: They taught themselves how to play the guitar.
Reflexive emphatic pronouns highlight that the subject is performing an action on themselves or among themselves.
Examples of Emphatic Pronouns in Sentences
Here are some examples of emphatic pronouns used in sentences:
Personal Emphatic Pronouns:
- I will do it myself.
- You can solve it yourself.
- He fixed the car himself.
- She prepared the meal herself.
- The cat cleaned itself.
- We built the house ourselves.
- You should be proud of yourselves.
- They completed the project themselves.
Reflexive Emphatic Pronouns:
- I hurt myself while playing.
- Be kind to yourself.
- He congratulated himself on his success.
- She believed in herself and achieved her goals.
- The book opened by itself.
- We reminded ourselves of the deadline.
- You need to take care of yourselves.
- They taught themselves how to play the guitar.
Emphatic pronouns exercises
Here are some exercises on emphatic pronouns along with their answers:
Exercise 1: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate emphatic pronouns.
I always prefer to do things __________.
Answer: myself
Please help __________ to some cake.
Answer: yourselves
She blamed __________ for the mistake.
Answer: herself
We should be proud of __________.
Answer: ourselves
They fixed the car __________.
Answer: themselves
Exercise 2: Rewrite the following sentences by adding the appropriate emphatic pronoun.
He solved the puzzle. (Emphasizing personal involvement)
Answer: He solved the puzzle himself.
They organized the event. (Emphasizing collective effort)
Answer: They organized the event themselves.
She wrote the report. (Emphasizing individual effort)
Answer: She wrote the report herself.
We made the decision. (Emphasizing collective responsibility)
Answer: We made the decision ourselves.
You need to believe. (Emphasizing personal belief)
Answer: You need to believe in yourself.
Exercise 3: Identify the type of emphatic pronoun used in each sentence (personal or reflexive).
We taught ourselves how to swim.
Answer: Reflexive
She baked the cake herself.
Answer: Personal
They fixed the car themselves.
Answer: Personal
He hurt himself while playing.
Answer: Reflexive
You should take care of yourselves.
Answer: Personal
Also, read:
Some online resources:
- Emphatic Pronouns (Myself, Yourself, Himself etc) English by Kapil Dev Sharma
- Emphatic Pronoun | Emphatic Pronoun Examples – Insightful Education
- Emphatic pronouns | The parts of speech | Grammar | Khan Academy
- Emphatic Pronouns: Explanation and Examples – grammar-monster.com
- Emphatic Pronoun | Definition Examples Rules | EGRAMMATICS
- Emphatic Pronoun – Bank Exam – unacademy.com
