The reflexive pronoun follows the noun or pronoun that it relates to.
It is hot in London; but I myself can work better when it’s hot.
The town itself was so small that it didn’t have a priest.
The lane ran right up to the wood itself.
It can also be placed at the end of the clause.
I am not a particularly punctual person myself.
You’ll probably understand better when you are a grandparent yourself.
It is rare for Governments to take the initiative themselves.
1.118 You use a reflexive pronoun to emphasize that someone did something without any help or interference from anyone else. In this use, the reflexive pronoun is normally placed at the end of the clause.
She had printed the card herself.
I’ll take it down to the police station myself.
Did you make these yourself?
People in generaclass="underline" generic pronouns
1.119 When you want to talk about people in general, you can use a generic pronoun.
Here is a list of pronouns that can be used as generic pronouns:
Subject: you one we they Object you one us them Possessive yours - ours theirs Reflexive yourself oneself ourselves themselves
you, yours and yourself
1.120 You is sometimes used to make statements about people in general, or about a person in a situation that you are imagining. You is used in this way in both subject and object position. The possessive form yours and the reflexive form yourself can also be used as generic pronouns.
To be a good doctor you need to have good communication skills. Champagne can give you a headache.
Once you’ve bought a physical book, you own it: you can lend it to people, donate it, and, well, it’s yours.
When you live alone you have to force yourself to go out more.
In informal English, you can use you get or you have to make a general statement about something that exists in the world.
You get some old people who are very difficult.
Anytime you have over eight inches of snow, driving becomes problematic.
one and oneself
1.121 In formal writing, one is sometimes used instead of you. One can be used in subject or object position. The reflexive form oneself is also used, but there is no possessive pronoun form of one.
Going round Italy, one is struck by the number of opera houses there are.
This scene makes one realize how deeply this community has been afflicted.
If one puts oneself up for public office, then it is inappropriate that one should behave badly.
we, us, ours and ourselves
1.122 You can refer to a general group that includes yourself as we or, in object position, us. This group can be all of mankind, or it can be a smaller group such as a nation or a community. The possessive form ours and the reflexive form ourselves can also be used in this way.
We all need money.
This survey gives us insight into our attitudes and behaviour as a nation.
No other language has ever advanced as far, as fast, as ours.
We need a change of government; just ridding ourselves of the prime minister isn’t enough.
they, them, theirs and themselves
1.123 You can use they to refer to people in general.
Isn’t that what they call love?
They can also refer to a group of people whose identity does not need to be stated. For example, in the sentence They’ve given John another pay rise it is clear that they refers to John’s employers.
‘Don’t worry’, I said to Mother, ‘they are moving you from this ward soon.’
You can also use they in subject position, or them in object position, to refer to an individual when you do not know, or do not want to specify, whether the individual is male or female. The possessive form theirs and the reflexive form themselves can also be used in this way. This use is very common after:
If anyone wants to be a childminder, they must attend a course.
If I think someone is having problems, I will spend hours talking to them.
A person’s body fat determines how long they can withstand cold water.
Note that the plural form of the verb is always used after they, even when it refers to only one person.
You can also use they, them, theirs and themselves to refer to:
In these cases, although the pronouns or noun phrases are grammatically singular, they refer to groups of people.
I never avoid my obligations and I expect everyone else to meet theirs.
Each parent was sent an individual letter informing them of the situation.
We want every player to push themselves to get into the team.
Another way is to use he or she instead of they, him or her instead of them, himself or herself instead of themselves and his or hers instead of theirs. This is often used in formal or written English.