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Pronouns

Intensive Pronoun: Important Rules and Examples

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Published on by Emma
3 min read
B1 EnglishB2 English

Pronouns are significant parts of speech that help you communicate effectively and concisely. Instead of using the same noun repeatedly, substituting it with the appropriate pronoun gets rid of redundancy. Since these terms are widely used, it’s understandable why mistakes occur in their application. Two of the commonly confused pronouns are the reflexive and intensive ones. These two are somewhat identical, but they actually function differently. This article shall focus on discussing how intensive pronouns are employed in a text.

Intensive Pronoun Rules

Intensive PronounsPin
Intensive Pronouns – Created by 7ESL

Purpose

Intensive pronouns are used mainly to highlight a subject or antecedent of a sentence. For such reason, they are alternatively known as self-intensifiers or emphatic pronouns. They include the words that usually ends with “self” or “selves.” Use an intensive pronoun if you want to emphasize your subject. Pronouns that are used as direct or indirect objects are not intensive in nature. To check if the pronoun is indeed intensive, try eliminating it from the text. Taking out the intensive pronouns will not disrupt the whole point of the sentence. Since it is used only for emphasis, the statement will still make sense even with the pronoun’s absence.

Placement

Intensive pronouns are usually, but not necessarily, found right after the noun or pronoun that it modifies. It must be noted that the pronoun should agree with the noun in gender and number. When the noun that it follows is singular, then the pronoun should also be singular. The same rule should be followed for plural ones. Taking gender into consideration is also vital as it upholds both correctness and respect.

Intensive Pronoun Examples

Here are some examples of sentences that use intensive pronouns correctly and incorrectly. Compare the two sets and discover what makes them different.

Incorrect:

  1. I didn’t even notice myself frowning.
  2. Tell yourself to be responsible for your actions.
  3. The man told himself to wash the dishes.
  4. The athlete gave herself a reward.
  5. The team members decided to defend themselves.

The examples above are all using reflexive pronouns and not intensive ones. This is proven when you remove the pronouns. The sentences will appear incomplete since there are no receivers of the actions. The pronouns here are not used for emphasis but rather as a direct or indirect object that is essentially a part of the whole text. Contrary to that, intensive pronouns are just auxiliary words meant to intensify the antecedent.

Correct:

  1. I myself didn’t even notice that I was frowning.
  2. You yourself should be responsible for your actions.
  3. The man himself washed the dishes.
  4. During the awarding, the athlete was able to meet the queen herself.
  5. The team members decided that they themselves should work on their defense.

From the examples above, try taking out the intensive pronoun. For the first item, if you eliminate “myself,” the sentence is still understandable. The fundamental meaning of the text is not altered. The same effect will be observable from the other items. That is because the intensive pronouns only put stress on the subject or antecedent to intensify the point.

B1 Knowledge Check · 5 questions

Intensive Pronoun Practice Quiz (B1-B2)

1 / 5
Q1

Question 1: The director ___ approved the new policy, without asking anyone else.

Question 1 options
'himself' is correct because the subject 'The director' is singular and male, so the intensive pronoun must match in gender and number. 'herself' refers to a female subject, 'themselves' is plural, and 'itself' refers to non-human things.
Q2

Question 2: In which situation is an intensive pronoun used correctly?

Question 2 options
'The manager herself reviewed every report' uses 'herself' to add emphasis to the subject 'manager', which is the defining purpose of an intensive pronoun. The other options use pronouns as objects (reflexive use), not for emphasis on the subject.
Q3

Question 3: Student A: 'Who built that beautiful stone wall in your garden?' Student B: 'My grandfather ___ built it over fifty years ago. No one helped him at all.'

Question 3 options
'himself' is correct here because Student B is adding strong emphasis to the fact that the grandfather — and no one else — did all the work. This is the communicative function of an intensive pronoun: to stress the subject in context.
Q4

Question 4: The scientist was proud because she ___ had discovered a solution that no one else had found before.

Question 4 options
'herself' is correct because it is the intensive pronoun matching the third-person singular female subject 'she', and it emphasizes that she — not anyone else — made the discovery. 'itself' is for non-human subjects, 'yourself' is second person, and 'myself' is first person.
Q5

Question 5: Match each sentence to the correct grammar label.

Question 5 options
I myself checked every answer before submitting the test.
She cut herself while chopping vegetables in the kitchen.
The team themselves decided to work overtime to meet the deadline.
He blamed himself for the mistake that caused the delay.
Reflexive pronoun — indirect object of the verb
Reflexive pronoun — object of the verb
Intensive pronoun — first person singular emphasis
Intensive pronoun — third person plural emphasis

Select an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.

Intensive pronouns emphasize a subject or antecedent and can be removed without changing meaning. Reflexive pronouns act as objects and cannot be removed. The pronoun must always agree in person, number, and gender with its antecedent.

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