A2 · Pronouns · 9 minReflexive pronouns, taught brick by brick.
A structured ten-slide lesson for A2 learners. Learn every reflexive form, separate self-reference, emphasis, and acting alone, and avoid common German transfer errors. The whole arc takes about nine minutes and requires no signup.
- CEFR levelA2 · Elementary
- Time to completeAbout 9 minutes
- Core questionThe same person?
- Bricks10 blocks
01 / 06
What reflexive pronouns actually do
A reflexive pronoun points back to the subject of a sentence. The person acting and the person affected by the action are then the same. In “She taught herself Spanish,” she is both teacher and learner. If another person received the teaching, you would need an ordinary object pronoun instead: “She taught him Spanish.” This return link explains the name of the word class. A reflexive pronoun does not introduce a new person; it refers to a person or group already named as the subject. You can therefore check a sentence with a simple question: who acts, and who is affected? When both answers identify the same person, a reflexive form will often fit. In “I introduced myself,” I and myself refer to the speaker. In “They introduced themselves,” subject and object refer to the same group. The form must agree with the subject in person and number. This core function is narrower than German sich; not every German reflexive verb uses a reflexive pronoun in English.
02 / 06
The forms with -self and -selves
The singular forms end in -self: I → myself, you → yourself, he → himself, she → herself, and it → itself. For more than one person, use -selves: we → ourselves, you → yourselves, and they → themselves. With you, the reflexive form therefore makes number explicit: yourself is singular and yourselves is plural. Learn each form directly with its subject rather than as an isolated list. Short pairs such as “I introduced myself,” “She introduced herself,” and “We introduced ourselves” connect grammar to meaning. Pay particular attention to himself and themselves. Forms such as “hisself” or “theirselves” are not part of the standard set taught here. Myself also begins with my- rather than the object pronoun me. The forms do not all look completely parallel, but each is written as one word. When writing, mark the subject first and then select its matching form. With a plural group, also check for the ending -selves rather than -self.
03 / 06
Self-reference in useful phrases
Several frequent phrases show the core function clearly. “Let me introduce myself” presents the speaker; subject and introduced person are identical. In “She taught herself Spanish,” the person acquires the skill without another teacher. “Enjoy yourself” is a common wish for someone to have a good time. “Help yourself to coffee” invites someone to take coffee for himself or herself. Learn these as complete chunks because the matching form changes with the person or group addressed. Say “Help yourself” to one person and “Help yourselves” to several. The grammar still follows the core pattern: the reflexive refers to the stated or understood subject. In an imperative, that subject is you even though it does not appear visibly in the sentence. A verb does not automatically require a reflexive pronoun. The form appears when the meaning genuinely returns to the same person or when the English phrase is built that way. A reflexive form in German alone is not enough; the English sentence pattern decides.
04 / 06
Emphasis and the meaning alone
Reflexive pronouns can also emphasise a person without serving as a necessary object. In “I did it myself,” myself shows that the speaker personally completed the task. The core sentence “I did it” remains grammatically complete; the reflexive adds a contrast that no other person performed the action. This emphatic form commonly appears after the object or at the end of the sentence. A related but clearer meaning emerges with by. “I did it by myself” means the speaker acted without help or company. “She runs the office by herself” describes one person managing the office alone. With a group, the phrase becomes “We completed the report by ourselves.” Keep the two patterns separate: without by, you emphasise who personally performed the action; with by, you emphasise that the person or group was alone. The meanings can overlap in conversation, but adding by makes the absence of help or company explicit. In both patterns, the reflexive form continues to agree with the subject.
05 / 06
The common German trap: too many reflexives
German sich appears with many more verbs than an English reflexive pronoun does. Word-for-word transfer therefore creates predictable errors. German “Ich fühle mich gut” becomes “I feel well” or “I feel good,” not “I feel myself.” German “Wir treffen uns um acht” becomes “We meet at eight,” not “We meet us at eight.” In the meaning taught here, remember also takes no reflexive: use “I remember the name,” not “I remember myself the name.” These verbs refer grammatically back to the subject in German but are built without a reflexive object in English. Learn the contrasts as short English sentences: “I feel well,” “We meet at eight,” “I remember the name.” Place beside them the genuine English reflexive chunks “enjoy yourself,” “help yourself,” “introduce myself,” and “teach herself.” Decide from the English verb pattern, not from the German pronoun. If you are unsure, ask whether the English action truly needs an object that identifies the same person as the subject.
06 / 06
Introductions and independence at work
Reflexive forms often appear at work in introductions, personal responsibility, and independent action. “Let me introduce myself” begins an introduction. “I prepared the slides myself” emphasises that you personally did the work. “I prepared the slides by myself” adds that you had no help. In a friendly office setting, “Help yourself to coffee” is an invitation. These chunks show that the same form can perform different jobs; sentence structure makes the intended meaning clear. Use yourself for one person addressed and yourselves for several. For a group that includes you, choose ourselves: “We organised the meeting ourselves.” In the present standard set, they pairs with themselves. American usage writing increasingly uses themself for singular they, while British school grammar still teaches themselves. At A2, focus on the standard set with themselves. This keeps person, number, and function easy to identify while leaving regional developments for later study.