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What is the difference between empathic & reflexive pronoun????????

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I would like to explain the difference between the two with the help of examples.

We use a reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause. Reflexive pronouns end in “-self" (singular) or “-selves” (plural).

There are eight reflexive pronouns, namely myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves.

Few instances of the same are:

- He was ashamed of himself after his misconduct at school;

- Please help yourselves;

- Infants are unable to look after themselves; etc.

Emphatic pronouns, on the other hand, are used to just emphasise the action of the subject. For instance,

1. He himself ordered the birthday cake;

2. I consulted the property dealer myself, etc.

Kindly note that an emphatic pronoun can be removed from the sentence and the core meaning would not be affected. A reflexive pronoun, on the other hand, is vital. The sentence wouldn’t make complete sense or wouldn’t seem logical if you remove the reflexive pronoun.

Compare:
He himself cut the cake. He cut the cake.
He cut himself. He cut …what?

Thus, I hope the above explanations and the instances helped you understand the difference between the two.

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View Full Answer

Reflexive pronouns are formed by the addition of the suffix self (singular) or selves (plural) to simple pronouns such as my, your, her, him, it, them and our.

My + self = Myself
Your + self = Yourself
Our + self = Ourselves
Them + selves = Themselves
It + self = Itself

When the subject and the object refer to the same person, a reflexive pronoun is used for the object.

 

 

 

Emphatic pronouns
When reflexive pronouns are used to put emphasis on a particular noun they are called emphatic pronouns.

He himself told me this.
I finished the job myself.
They themselves admitted their mistake.
We ourselves witnessed the accident.

 

 

hope this helpz

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