Reflexive pronoun

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A reflexive pronoun indicates that the action of the subject is directed to itself. The endings in English are -self and -themselves, and are added to the pronoun.

For example:

He talks with himself.

They couldnt find the way themselves.

The reflexive pronouns in English are:

myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves

Unlike for example Russian, English doesn't modify a verb to show it is a reflexive verb. All reflexive actions are indicated by the reflexive pronouns.

For example:

He hasn't shaved.

He hasn't shaved himself.

There is a very slight difference in these two sentences. The first sentence is a kind of factual statement/observation that the person is unshaven. The second sentence implies that the person hasn't performed the action of shaving. The result is of course the same.

Translations

• Danish: refleksivt pronomen/stedord n, tilbagevirkende pronomen/stedord n
• Faroese: afturbent fornavn n
• Swedish: reflexivt pronomen n
• Dutch: wederkerend voornaamwoord n
• Portuguese: pronome reflexivo m

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