Reflexive Pronoun - Academic Mode

Reflexive pronoun definition
A reflexive pronoun ends with "-self" in the case of a singular pronoun, and "-selves" in the case of a plural pronoun, and refers to the subject of the sentence. It appears within the sentence, and it also functions as its own object. mom to support her, "by The pronoun" herself "refers to the subject" a woman. "

Difference between reflexive pronoun and intensive pronoun
Although both reflexive and intensive pronouns end with the same suffixes, "-self" or "-selves", there is a difference between the two. While intensive pronouns can be removed from the sentence without affecting it, reflexive pronouns are indispensable to clarify the meaning of the sentence. Or example:

Julia herself made tea.
In this sentence, the underlined reflexive pronoun "herself" is in action. Without this pronoun, readers would not be able to tell who made tea.

Jim she made tea for her father.
Here, the intensive pronoun "himself" does not refer to Jim, but to his father. Readers have understood that Jim has made tea for his father.

Common use of the reflexive pronoun
Harvey himself sent a letter to the manager
The prime minister himself called his cabinet
The cat closed the door of his house
The girls themselves guided the team to success .
Natalie saw herself like a princess.
Examples of reflexive pronouns in literature
Example # 1: Introduction to the flesh of a man (by E.White)
“I do Sunday homework. I do the restless carpet. Except for the whale. I wind the watch. I talk to myself. ”

In these lines, the reflexive pronoun“ myself ”refers to the pronoun“ I ”, which is the subject of the text. She is clarifying the meaning of the sentence.

Example # 2: Song of Songs (by Toni Morrison)
“At night, she and her daughter lit the house with candles and kerosene lamps; they heated and cooked with firewood and charcoal, they pumped kitchen water into a dry sink through a pipe from a well, and they lived more or less as if progress were a word that means to walk a little further down the road.

Here, the reflexive pronoun "They themselves" is emphasizing the theme "she and her daughter". Again, it makes the meaning of the text clear and understandable.

Example # 3: To Kill a Mockingbird (by Harper Lee)
“In England, Simon was irritated by the persecution of those who called themselves Methodists at the hands of his elders. Liberal brethren, and as Simon called himself a Methodist ... The Radleys, welcome anywhere in town, kept to themselves an unforgivable predilection in Maycomb. "

The author has used two reflexive pronouns in this example," self "and" self ". The first reflexive pronoun relates to the subject" Methodist "and the second to" Simon ".

Example 4: The portrait of an artist as a young man Man (by James Joyce)
"His fingers trembled as he undressed in the dormitory. He told his fingers to hurry ... He blessed himself and quickly climbed into bed and tucked the end of the nightgown under his feet ... And while he got dressed as soon as possible, said the prefect… ”

Joyce used the reflexive pronoun“ himself ”to refer to the pronoun“ I ”which happens to be the subject of the text.

Example 5: Animal Farm (by George Orwell)
"They are all lies. Man serves the interests of no creature but himself. The pigs had an even tougher battle to counter the lies of Moses. Their most faithful disciples were both of them n carts. Horses, boxers and clover. These two had great difficulty in thinking of something for themselves. ”

In this case there are two reflexive pronouns,“ self ”and“ self ”. "He himself" refers to the noun "man" and "himself" refers to "the pigs".

Function
In a text, reflexive pronouns refer to the subject whenever necessary. They also play the role of intensive pronouns to highlight the subjects. While not essential, they serve as markers to help make written work more cohesive and organized. They serve several other functions, such as direct or indirect objects, and the overuse of these pronouns makes the text somewhat ambiguous and awkward, making it difficult for readers to really understand the text.