Emphatic Pronoun definition.
Emphatic Pronouns (intensive pronouns) are like reflexive pronouns structurally, but their purpose is different. We use emphatic pronouns to show sudden emotions (surprise, anger, and excitement). These words consist of “myself, himself, herself, ourselves, ourselves, itself, yourself, and yourselves”. They are used to show that the activities are done without any help and occur after the subject.
Examples:
- I myself wrote the letter.
- She herself found the solutions.
- He himself cleaned the room.
- You yourself should cook the food.
- They themselves arranged the party.
“Myself, yourself, herself, himself, and itself ” are singular and used with singular pronouns.
“I + myself, she = herself, It = itself, You = yourself, he = himself”
Ourselves, yourselves, and themselves are plural and used with plural pronouns.
They = themselves, you= yourselves, we= ourselves,
These same words come in reflexive pronouns too. But the purpose is different. Reflexive pronouns are when the same person performs the action and the action reflects the same person which appears in the subject of the sentence. We do not show emotions and the position is at the end of the sentence.
Examples:
- I wrote the letter myself.
- She found the paper herself.
- They washed the car themselves.
- The man plugged the flower himself.
- You drink the water yourself.
What is the difference between emphatic pronouns and reflexive pronouns?
Emphatic pronouns show emphasis (show our emotions) but reflexive pronouns are reflecting to the subject. In reflexive Pronouns, we do not show our emotions it just shows that the same person acts without any help from others.
Examples:
| Emphatic Pronouns | Reflexive Pronoun |
|---|---|
| I myself wrote the letter. | I wrote the letter myself. |
| He himself brought the papers! | He brought the paper himself. |
| She herself cleaned the room. | She cleaned the room herself. |
| They themselves managed the party. | They managed the party themselves. |
| It itself broke the glass. | It broke the glass itself. |
