{"id":5889,"date":"2022-03-16T06:00:45","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T11:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=5889"},"modified":"2022-03-14T09:39:22","modified_gmt":"2022-03-14T14:39:22","slug":"intensive-pronouns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/pronouns\/intensive-pronouns\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are Intensive Pronouns?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A reflexive pronoun in English is one that refers back to itself: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.\u00a0<\/em>It is used when the subject and the object of a sentence are the same. It can act as either an object or an indirect object:<\/p>\n

We should finish it by ourselves<\/u>. <\/em>(object of a prepositional phrase)<\/p>\n

He gave himself<\/u> a raise. <\/em>(indirect object)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

An intensive pronoun is a reflexive pronoun that emphasizes (intensifies) the subject rather than referring back to it as an object or an indirect object. It achieves this emphasis by repeating the subject:<\/p>\n

We ourselves<\/u> should finish it.<\/em><\/p>\n

He himself<\/u> gave a raise<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

An intensive pronoun also can often appear before or after the verb:<\/p>\n

We ourselves<\/u> should finish it.<\/em><\/p>\n

We should finish it ourselves<\/u><\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Intensive pronouns are not used alone in a sentence:<\/p>\n

Incorrect: <\/em><\/strong>Ourselves<\/u> should finish it.<\/em>
\nIncorrect: <\/em><\/strong>Should finish it ourselves<\/u><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Incorrect: <\/em><\/strong>Himself<\/u> gave a raise.<\/em>
\nIncorrect: <\/em><\/strong>Gave a raise himself<\/u><\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is plausible that statements such as “should finish it ourselves” and “gave a raise himself” might appear as clipped conversation in a quotation or in fictional writing, but we would avoid such constructions in daily formal writing.<\/p>\n

How to Further Distinguish Intensive Pronouns<\/h2>\n

To separate intensive pronouns from reflexive pronouns, we will remember that while they look the same, their functions are different, as shown in the preceding examples.<\/p>\n

The meanings of the example sentences change when the reflexive pronouns become intensive pronouns. Reflexive pronouns influence the information in a sentence. Intensive pronouns do not: They can be removed without affecting meaning or clarity.<\/p>\n

With intensive pronoun: <\/em><\/strong>He himself<\/u> gave a raise.<\/em><\/p>\n

Without: <\/em><\/strong>He gave a raise. <\/em>(no change in meaning)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now compare what happens when the reflexive pronoun is taken out:<\/p>\n

With reflexive pronoun: <\/em><\/strong>He gave himself<\/u> a raise. <\/em>(He received the raise.)<\/p>\n

Without: <\/em><\/strong>He gave a raise. <\/em>(He gave a raise, and we do not know who received it.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Why Use Intensive Pronouns?<\/h2>\n

Intensive pronouns’ main utility is to draw greater attention to a statement’s context. They often are included to convey something that might deserve extra focus or that surprises expectations:<\/p>\n

Nathaniel himself<\/u> will present the award. <\/em>(There is something significant about Nathaniel presenting the award instead of somebody else.)<\/p>\n

The CEO herself<\/u> replaced the broken window. <\/em>(Not all people might expect a company CEO to replace a broken window.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Related Topics<\/h3>\n

Personal Pronouns<\/a>
\nReflexive Pronouns<\/a><\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

Identify if the pronoun in each sentence is reflexive or intensive.<\/p>\n

1. The mayor himself will coach the softball team. [reflexive \/ intensive]<\/p>\n

2. Wanda bought herself a new dress. [reflexive \/ intensive]<\/p>\n

3. Ryan and Jake would like some time to themselves to discuss it. [reflexive \/ intensive]<\/p>\n

4. The girls said they would paint the bedroom themselves. [reflexive \/ intensive]<\/p>\n

5. Did you say you yourselves have already built the parade float? [reflexive \/ intensive]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1. The mayor himself will coach the softball team. intensive<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Wanda bought herself a new dress. reflexive<\/strong><\/p>\n

3. Ryan and Jake would like some time to themselves to discuss it. reflexive<\/strong><\/p>\n

4. The girls said they would paint the bedroom themselves. intensive<\/strong><\/p>\n

5. Did you say you yourselves have already built the parade float? intensive<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A reflexive pronoun in English is one that refers back to itself: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.\u00a0It is used when the subject and the object of a sentence are the same. It can act as either an object or an indirect object: We should finish it by ourselves. (object of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pronouns"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5889"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5889"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5891,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5889\/revisions\/5891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}