Understanding reflexive pronouns is crucial for learners aiming to improve their grammar. Reflexive pronouns not only make sentences more concise but also help in clarifying meaning. In this article, we will delve into the concept of reflexive pronouns and provide a reflexive pronouns worksheet to enhance your practice. Let’s explore this topic further and see how you can easily master the use of reflexive pronouns.

Reflexive Pronouns Worksheets: An Essential Guide to Mastering Reflexive Pronouns

What Are Reflexive Pronouns?

Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the sentence. These pronouns are used when the subject and the object of a sentence are the same. Reflexive pronouns include the following words:

– Myself

– Yourself

– Himself

– Herself

– Itself

– Ourselves

– Yourselves

– Themselves

For example:

– She taught herself how to play the piano.

– The cat cleaned itself after eating.

In these examples, reflexive pronouns are used to reflect the action back to the subject.

Common Mistakes with Reflexive Pronouns

Using reflexive pronouns incorrectly is a common grammar mistake. Some learners may overuse them or use them in the wrong context. Let’s look at some examples of common mistakes:

1. Overuse of Reflexive Pronouns:

– Incorrect: John and myself went to the park.

– Correct: John and I went to the park.

2. Using Reflexive Pronouns Incorrectly:

– Incorrect: He did it by hisself.

– Correct: He did it by himself.

Reflexive Pronouns Worksheet

Now that we understand how reflexive pronouns work, let’s put that knowledge into practice. Use the worksheet below to solidify your understanding of reflexive pronouns.

Worksheet 1: Basic Fill-in-the-Blank

Instructions: Fill in the blanks using the correct reflexive pronoun (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves).

1. I hurt ___ while playing football.

2. She looked at ___ in the mirror.

3. He taught ___ to play the piano.

4. We enjoyed ___ at the party.

5. The cat cleaned ___ after its meal.

6. You should take care of ___.

7. They managed to organize the event by ___.

8. She blamed ___ for the mistake.

9. He fixed the car by ___.

10. We did all the work by ___.

11. I introduced ___ to the new colleague.

12. The children dressed ___ for school.

13. You can treat ___ to something nice today.

14. The dog entertained ___ with the ball.

15. She made the cake ___.

16. We bought ___ a new book.

17. He prepared the meal ___.

18. They found ___ lost in the city.

19. I congratulated ___ for completing the task.

20. The machine turned ___ off automatically.

Answers:

1. myself, 2. herself, 3. himself, 4. ourselves, 5. itself, 6. yourself, 7. themselves, 8. herself, 9. himself, 10. ourselves, 11. myself, 12. themselves, 13. yourself, 14. itself, 15. herself, 16. ourselves, 17. himself, 18. themselves, 19. myself, 20. itself.

Worksheet 2: Error Correction

Instructions: Each sentence contains a mistake with reflexive pronouns. Rewrite the sentence correctly.

1. He cut hisself while chopping vegetables.

2. They did the project by myself.

3. She blamed hisself for the accident.

4. We taught ourselves how to play guitar by themselves.

5. The dog hurt hisself when it jumped over the fence.

6. I saw the students congratulating themself after the exam.

7. You can clean the room by himself.

8. The cat washed themselves after eating.

9. They solved the problem by hisself.

10. I helped himself with the homework.

Answers:

1. He cut himself while chopping vegetables.

2. They did the project by themselves.

3. She blamed herself for the accident.

4. We taught ourselves how to play guitar by ourselves.

5. The dog hurt itself when it jumped over the fence.

6. I saw the students congratulating themselves after the exam.

7. You can clean the room by yourself.

8. The cat washed itself after eating.

9. They solved the problem by themselves.

10. I helped himself with the homework.

Worksheet 3: Matching Exercise

Instructions: Match each sentence to its corresponding reflexive pronoun.

1. I cooked dinner by ___.

2. The cat is licking ___.

3. You should be proud of ___.

4. They are fixing the car by ___.

5. She solved the puzzle by ___.

6. He defended ___.

7. We painted the house by ___.

8. The children are dressing ___.

9. You have to believe in ___.

10. The dog entertained ___ with a toy.

Options:

a) himself

b) themselves

c) itself

d) myself

e) herself

f) ourselves

g) yourself

h) yourselves

Answers:

1. d) myself, 2. c) itself, 3. g) yourself, 4. b) themselves, 5. e) herself, 6. a) himself, 7. f) ourselves, 8. b) themselves, 9. g) yourself, 10. c) itself.

Worksheet 4: Advanced Multiple Choice

Instructions: Select the correct reflexive pronoun for each sentence.

1. He fixed the computer by ___.

a) himself

b) herself

c) ourselves

2. We treated ___ to a day at the spa.

a) yourselves

b) themselves

c) ourselves

3. She was talking to ___.

a) yourself

b) herself

c) himself

4. They made dinner for ___.

a) themselves

b) ourselves

c) himself

5. You can help ___.

a) yourself

b) themselves

c) myself

Answers:

1. a) himself, 2. c) ourselves, 3. b) herself, 4. a) themselves, 5. a) yourself.

Worksheet 5: Sentence Rewriting

Instructions: Rewrite the sentences below by replacing the subject with the appropriate reflexive pronoun.

1. John completed the assignment on his own.

2. We managed to organize the event without help.

3. Sarah prepared her presentation without assistance.

4. The children cleaned up the room themselves.

5. The dog entertained itself with the toy.

Answers:

1. John completed the assignment by himself.

2. We managed to organize the event by ourselves.

3. Sarah prepared her presentation by herself.

4. The children cleaned up the room by themselves.

5. The dog entertained itself with the toy.

Worksheet 6: Reflexive vs Object Pronouns

Instructions: Fill in the blanks using the correct pronoun (reflexive or object pronoun).

1. I hurt ___ while climbing the tree.

2. She gave ___ the book yesterday.

3. They bought ___ a present for their birthday.

4. We taught ___ how to cook.

5. Can you tell ___ the story again?

Answers:

1. myself, 2. me, 3. themselves, 4. ourselves, 5. me.

Worksheet 7: Advanced Reflexive Pronoun Usage

Instructions: Complete each sentence with the correct reflexive pronoun.

1. She taught ___ to play the violin.

2. The CEO addressed the employees and then excused ___.

3. They found ___ lost in the big city.

4. We took it upon ___ to finish the project ahead of schedule.

5. The cat caught ___ in the mirror and started hissing.

6. He convinced ___ to stay calm in the stressful situation.

7. You can’t blame anyone else; you brought this upon ___.

8. We decorated the house by ___.

9. They introduced ___ to the new team members.

10. The athlete pushed ___ to the limits to win the race.

11. She spent the afternoon by ___ reading in the garden.

12.We decided to challenge ___ to a friendly debate.

13. He found ___ in a very awkward situation.

14. The company prides ___ on delivering high-quality service.

15.You must take care of ___ while I’m away.

16. The kids managed to clean up after ___ without any help.

17. I promised ___ that I would never give up.

18. He constantly talks to ___ while solving math problems.

19. They wanted to enjoy ___ before starting a new job.

20. I will hold ___ accountable for completing this task.

Answers:

1. herself, 2. himself, 3. themselves, 4. ourselves, 5. itself, 6. himself, 7. yourself, 8. ourselves, 9. themselves, 10. himself, 11. herself, 12. ourselves, 13. himself, 14. itself, 15. yourself, 16. themselves, 17. myself, 18. himself, 19. themselves, 20. myself.

Worksheet 8: Reflexive Pronouns and Possessive Pronouns

Instructions: Replace the nouns in each sentence with the correct reflexive or possessive pronoun.

1. This is John’s car. ___ fixed it all by ___.

2. Sarah’s house is lovely. ___ decorated it ___.

3. We bought this house ourselves. It’s ___ now.

4. You should blame ___ for that mistake.

5. They cleaned the entire house by ___ without help.

Answers:

1. He fixed it all by himself, 2. She decorated it herself, 3. It’s ours now, 4. You should blame yourself, 5. They cleaned the entire house by themselves.

Worksheet 9: Reflexive Pronouns in Dialogues

Instructions: Fill in the blanks in the dialogue using the correct reflexive pronouns.

1. Alex: Hey John, did you build this shed by ___?

2. John: Yes, I did it all by ___. It was a lot of work, but I’m proud of ___.

3. Alex: Wow! I wish I could motivate ___ to do something like that.

4. John: Trust me, once you start, you’ll surprise ___. My kids even helped a bit, they painted the walls by ___.

5. Alex: That’s amazing. I’ll challenge ___ to start my own project soon!

Answers:

Alex: yourself, John: myself, myself, yourself, themselves, myself.

Worksheet 10: Reflexive Pronouns vs. Intensive Pronouns

Instructions: Identify whether the underlined pronoun is reflexive or intensive.

1. I made this cake myself.

2. The president himself gave the speech.

3. The kids took care of themselves.

4. You should complete the project by yourself.

5. She wanted to thank the team herself.

Answers:

1. Reflexive, 2. Intensive, 3. Reflexive, 4. Reflexive, 5. Intensive.

Worksheet 11: Error Identification

Instructions: Each sentence has an error with a reflexive pronoun. Correct the mistake.

1. She made hisself breakfast this morning.

2. They did the work by ourself.

3. You can rely on themselves for support.

4. He helped herself with the homework.

5. We introduced myself to the new students.

Answers:

1.She made herself breakfast, 2. They did the work by themselves, 3. You can rely on yourself for support, 4. He helped himself with the homework, 5. We introduced ourselves to the new students.

Worksheet 12: Complex Reflexive Pronouns

Instructions: Use the correct reflexive pronoun in the following advanced sentences.

1. The scientists isolated ___ in the lab for hours to complete the experiment.

2. The CEO praised ___ during the company’s anniversary event.

3. They took it upon ___ to lead the project when no one else volunteered.

4. The artist locked ___ in the studio to focus on the painting.

5. We allowed ___ to rest after the long journey.

Answers:

1. themselves, 2. himself, 3. themselves, 4. herself, 5. ourselves.

Worksheet 13: Reflexive Pronouns in Paragraphs

Instructions: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate reflexive pronoun.

Yesterday, I decided to treat ___ to a day of relaxation. I took ___ to the spa and booked a massage for ___. After that, I allowed ___ to enjoy a nice lunch at my favorite restaurant. It felt good to take care of ___ and give ___ some well-deserved rest. My friend Sarah said she would treat ___ next week, and we plan to pamper ___ together.

Answers:

myself, myself, myself, myself, myself, herself, ourselves.

Worksheet 14: Reflexive Pronouns in Literature

Instructions: Identify and underline the reflexive pronouns in the following excerpts.

1. “He who sacrifices ___ for fame will lose both.”

2. “She built a life for ___ that no one could take away.”

3. “They found ___ alone in the wilderness.”

4. “I must depend on ___ to make this dream come true.”

5. “We owe it to ___ to strive for greatness.”

Answers:

1. himself, 2. herself, 3. themselves, 4. myself, 5. ourselves.

This worksheet can help learners practice and become more confident with reflexive pronouns.

Benefits of Using Reflexive Pronouns

– Clarity in Communication :

Reflexive pronouns make your writing clearer by specifying that the subject and object are the same.

– Conciseness :

They help reduce wordiness by eliminating the need for repetitive nouns in a sentence.

– Emphasis :

Reflexive pronouns can be used for emphasis. For instance: I built this house myself.

Conclusion: Master Reflexive Pronouns with Practice

Understanding and using reflexive pronouns effectively is a vital aspect of mastering English grammar. With consistent practice, such as through this reflexive pronouns worksheet, you can avoid common mistakes and improve your communication skills. Whether you are a teacher looking for educational materials or a student trying to enhance your grammar knowledge, reflexive pronouns are an essential part of your learning journey.