Before doing this activity you may need to read the text you will find at the end
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| Item | Match | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| The cat opened the box (nobody helped him) | The cat opened the box himself |
also: itself (you probably will say: himself if you love cats or its your pet) |
| Little Katie ties her shoes (she can do it without help) | Little Katie ties her shoes herself | |
| She designs all her clothes (nobody else does it) | She designs all her clothes herself | |
| I heard the lie (nobody told me) | I heard the lie myself | |
| It was John dancing at the party (but John doesn't like dancing!) | It was John himself dancing at the party | |
| Santa Claus gave me the present. (Wow, Santa in person!) | Santa Claus himself gave me the present | |
| If you want things right, you have to do it (don't let other people do it) | If you want things right, you have to do it yourself | |
| I cleaned all the house (nobody helped me) | I cleaned all the house myself | |
| She will do it (without help) | She will do it herself | |
| My friend came to rescue me (I'm impressed and very proud he did) | My friend himself came to rescue me | |
| My mother convinced everybody to sign the complain (yeah, that's my mother!) | My mother herself convinced everybody to sign the complain | |
| I built this boat (I didn't buy it and nobody helped me) | I built this boat myself | |
| The cat opened the door (wow, but it's so difficult!) | The cat itself opened the door | |
| The manager welcomed us to the hotel (oh, I felt important) | The manager himself welcomed us to the hotel | |
| Vicky painted her house (she didn't hire painters or anyone) | Vicky painted her house herself | |
| Are you going to cook? (you are not going to tell other people to do it?) | Are you going to cook yourself? | |
| My little daughter baked this cake (yes, and she is only 8 years old!) | My little daughter herself baked this cake | |
| This car belonged to Elvis Presley (wow, it was Elvis's car!) | This car belonged to Elvis Presley himself | |
| The president will come to speak to us (wow, that's serious, the president!) | The president himself will come to speak to us | |
| My friend came to rescue me (he didn't send other people) | My friend came to rescue me himself |
Myself, yourself, himself, etc can be reflexive pronouns, to express that the subject and the object of the sentence is the same:
I cut my nails (I cut, my nails are cut)
I cut myself (I cut, I am cut, I+I=myself)
(see more about reflexive pronouns here)
But he same pronouns can be used simply to emphasize the subject for some reason. We use the emphatic pronouns in two different situations:
yes, that person, strange but true.
- The King himself came to the festival (yes, the king in person!)
- I opened the door and saw the President himself
- The manager himself spoke to me
- Do you know who lives there? Robert Redford himself!
- I heard someone talking on the radio and suddenly I realized it was dad himself! exactly that person (and not any other) and that person alone (without help)
- The house itself is very nice, but the garden is too small
- John himself was there at the party
- Her brother came to take her home himself
- Look, I did it myself
- Don't worry, she will do it herself (she, not you or anybody else)
Tendency: We often put the pronoun right after the subject when we express some kind of surprise
Kevin himself organized the party (I'm impressed he did)
Kevin organized the party himself (it was Kevin, nobody else)
