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Pronouns

Reflexive Pronouns

Myself, yourself, himself, herself, themselves - when you do it to you.

Mastered by
Myself and yourself around 4
Practice items
21
Sections
3

What this skill is

A reflexive pronoun is what English uses when the doer and the receiver are the same person: she dressed herself, I hurt myself. They also do a second job, adding emphasis - "I did it myself" - which is the same word doing something quite different, and worth separating in practice.

What to expect

The predictable errors are "hisself" and "theirselves", and both are perfectly logical: the child has spotted that myself and yourself are built from the possessive (my + self, your + self) and applied that rule to he and they. English switches to the object form partway through the set, for no good reason.

Try this at home

Self-care routines are full of these. Dressing, washing, buckling a seatbelt, pouring a drink - narrate them as they happen: "You did it yourself!" It also happens to be the vocabulary of growing independence, which children are usually pleased to talk about.

When to refer

Still saying hisself or theirselves after about 6, or no reflexives at all by 5.

Print it

Reflexive Pronouns worksheet21 items across 3 sections, with answer key · PDF

Doing It to Yourself

10 items

Fill in the blank with the right reflexive pronoun.

  1. 1.My brother got dressed all by ____.himself
  2. 2.My sister tied her shoes by ____.herself
  3. 3.I poured the milk by ____.myself
  4. 4.The twins buckled ____ in.themselves
  5. 5.You can do this by ____.yourself
  6. 6.The cat washed ____ in the sun.itself
  7. 7.We made breakfast by ____.ourselves
  8. 8.Dad cut ____ shaving.himself
  9. 9.My friend taught ____ to whistle.herself
  10. 10.The kids helped ____ to seconds.themselves

Saying It for Emphasis

6 items

Here the reflexive word means "with no help". Fill in the blank.

  1. 1.Nobody helped me. I built it ____.myself
  2. 2.She did not ask for help. She read it ____.herself
  3. 3.He carried the whole box ____.himself
  4. 4.You should be proud - you finished it ____.yourself
  5. 5.We cleaned the whole room ____.ourselves
  6. 6.They packed the car ____.themselves

Fix the Word

5 items

Each sentence has one wrong reflexive word. Say it the right way.

  1. 1.He tied his shoes by hisself.He tied his shoes by himself.
  2. 2.They made lunch by theirselves.They made lunch by themselves.
  3. 3.She drew it by herselves.She drew it by herself.
  4. 4.I did it by meself.I did it by myself.
  5. 5.He fed the dog by himselves.He fed the dog by himself.