Do you remember what reflexive pronouns are? Can you give me some examples? himself herself itself myself themselves ourselves yourself yourselves

pronounsreflexive pronouns I You You We myself yourself yourselves ourselves Can you match up the right pronouns?

pronounsreflexive pronouns He She It They himself herself itself themselves Can you match up the right pronouns?

Case 1: Reflexive pronouns are used when the action done by the doer passes back to himself, so that the subject and the object of the sentences are the same person. e.g. Mary looked at herself in the mirror. (Mary is the person who did the action of looking at somebody in the mirror, but the person she was looking at was Mary too. )

e.g. Paul hurts himself during the game. (Paul is the doer of the action, hurting someone, but he also is the victim of this action which means Paul hurts Paul during the game.)

e.g. Nancy bought a present for herself. (Nancy bought a present for Nancy, not for someone else.)

When do we use reflexive pronouns? Case 2: Reflexive pronouns are also used to emphasize the subject (object) saying that person and nobody else e.g. I can make a sandwich by myself. (It is me not my mother or anybody else who can make a sandwich!)

e.g. Susan drew the picture herself. (Susan drew the picture without parents’ and teachers’ help.)

e.g. Jason and Cindy go to school by themselves. (They go to school with each other but their parents don’t take them to school.)

Can you tell the difference between the two dialogues? Case 1: Jane your room is too untidy. You should tidy it up. I am very busy and have no time. Can you do it for me?

Can you tell the difference between the two dialogues? Case 1: You need to give yourself more time. Sorry, I won’t help you. You’ve got to do it.

Case 2: Jane your room is too untidy. You should tidy it up yourself! I am very busy and have no time. Can you do it for me?

Case 2: You need to give yourself more time. Sorry, I won’t help you. You’ve got to do it yourself!

In case 2, mother emphasizes that Jane has to tidy the room herself and it won’t be done by anybody else, but only Jane has to do it. In case 1, mother gently asks Jane to tidy the room.

Modals

“Can” and “could” are two modal verbs. If you make questions beginning with “can” or “could”, you are questioning the ability of someone to do something. e.g. 1.Can Mary make a cake herself? e.g. 2.Could David make a cake himself?

What is the difference between the two modal verbs? In the first example, Can Mary make a cake herself? You really don’t know if Mary can make it or not. You are just asking for information on her ability in making a cake.

In the second example, Could David make a cake himself? You know David very well. And he is not good at cooking. Actually, he dislikes working in the kitchen! So you really have doubts about his ability in making a cake himself. It seems quite impossible!