LONGMAN ENGLISH GRAMMAR PRACTICE

4 Pronouns

4.5

4.5A

Study:

из

Reflexive pronouns ('myself')

Verbs commonly followed by reflexive pronouns: 'I enjoyed myself

[> LEG 4.25]

1 Myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves are

reflexive pronouns. There aren't many verbs in English which we must always use with

reflexive pronouns: absent oneself, avail oneself (of) and pride oneself (on):

Monica absented herself from work. Jim prides himself on his cooking.

2 We often use reflexive pronouns with these verbs: amuse, blame, cut, dry, enjoy, hurt, and

introduce: I've cut myself with the bread knife.

We can use these verbs without reflexive pronouns if we want to: I've cut my thumb.

We can use object pronouns (me, him, her, etc.) after these verbs only when we refer to

someone else: He amused me (but not *l amused me/I cut me", etc.)

Write: Supply the correct reflexive pronouns in the following.

1 I enjoyed very much at the party.

2 I see you've cut again. Won't you ever learn how to shave?

3 How did Tom dry? - He used your towel!

4 She has no reason to blame for what has happened.

5 I think that poor dog has hurt

6 'One prides on one's patience,' the boss said, in his usual pompous manner.

7 We amused playing football on the beach.

8 Our new neighbours knocked at our door and introduced

9 Sheila prides on her ability to judge people's characters.

10 Bill had to absent from work when his baby was born.

4.5B Verb + reflexive, or not?: 'I've dressed (myself)' [> LEG 4.26-27]

We sometimes add reflexive pronouns after verbs like dress, hide, shave and wash for

emphasis or to show that something has been done with an effort. For example, if we are

referring to a child, we might say: Polly's now learnt how to dress herself, but we could also

say: Polly has now learnt how to dress, (without herself). The choice is ours.

Verbs such as get up, sit down, stand up, wake up and get wet, get tired, get dressed, get

married [> Ю.4С] are not normally reflexive in English: I sat down with difficulty.

We might use a reflexive only for emphasis:

I sat myself down with difficulty. Old Bill has got himself married at last!

Write: Write these sentences again using reflexive pronouns with the verbs.

1 We didn't know where to hide W.?:. c^d^tá..

2 That kitten now washes every day

3 She's just learning how to dress

4 We sat down and waited

5 I got wet watering the garden

6 I woke up with a start

7 Barry has just got engaged.

8 Get ready quickly!