MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH
ACTIVITY SHEET (created by the user: Profe)

Before doing this activity you may need to read the text you will find at the end


  SmartMemo
Emphatic pronouns
Focus Grammar
Description Practise the use of the emphatic pronouns used to emphasize the subject of a sentence: Myself, yourself, himself...
Instructions 1- Look at the sentences and try to express that idea in the other language using the emphatic pronouns. 2- Move your mouse over the black button to check your answer. 3- If you were right, click on the green button, if wrong, click on the red.
 
Item Match Comments
Nada menos que el rey vino a la fiesta de la inauguración The king himself came to the inauguration party
Kitty ya se lava los dientes sola Kitty already brushes her teeth herself
Ella misma me lo dijo She told me herself
Me han dicho que quien rompió mi ventana fuiste precisamente tú They told me that the one who broke my window was you yourself
Ella misma se cayó She fell down herself o sea, ella solita, sin ayuda de nadie y sin ser culpa de nadie
... y el ganador no era otro que tu hermano! ... and the winner was your brother himself!
El dibujo en sí no está mal, pero el color es horroroso The picture itself is ok, but the colur is terrible
El alcalde en persona vino a la reunión The mayor himself came to the meeting
¿Te gusta? Lo he hecho yo mismo Do you like it? I did it myself
Me gusta elegir yo mismo I like choosing myself
Tú mismo me puedes invitar You can invite me yourself
Su hermano vino a buscarla él mismo Her brother came for her himself
Arregló el ordenador él solo He fixed the computer himself cuando decimos "él solo" no nos referimos a que no tuvo compañía, nos referimos a que no tuvo ayuda.
Julia Roberts en carne y hueso estaba allí Julia Roberts herself was there
Nosotros siempre pintamos la casa nosotros mismos We always paint the house ourselves
Sí quieres puedes hacerlo tú mismo If you want you can do it yourself
Él mismo contesta las llamadas He answers the phone himself
Eligieron presidente a Susie, nada menos They elected Susie herself president
El mismísimo papa celebró la misa por las víctimas The pope himself celebrated the mass for the victims
Entré en clase y la maestra no era otra que mi vecina de al lado I went into the classroom and the teacher was my next-door neighbour herself
Total number of items: 20
This is an activity from Multimedia-English www.multimedia-english.com
 

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)

 

The king himself= El rey en persona, el mismo rey, el mismísimo rey, nada menos que el rey, el rey ni más ni menos, precisamente el rey; el rey, que no otro.
The house itself= la casa propiamente dicha, la casa en sí
My mother herself= Mi madre en persona, mi madre precisamente, nada menos que mi madre, mi madre ella solita, mi madre!