The Comma Queen Explains the Proper Use of Those Pesky Pronouns That End in ‘Self’

In a new episode of her grammar series, the very informative Mary Norris aka “The Comma Queen“, still on location at CW Pencil Enterprises, explains the concept of the reflexive pronoun, the proper use of a reflexive pronoun and the sentence structure necessary for a reflexive pronoun to be considered correct but not pompous.

We’re going to cover another subject that people have written a lot and requested. Reflexive pronouns are the ones with self the end of them. Myself, yourself, himself, themselves and the problem is that sometimes those reflexive pronouns are used where a personal pronoun would do. Reflexive pronouns reflect back on the subject. …it has to have an antecedent. It has to reflect back on a regular personal pronoun – he, himself.