English is a complex language as sometimes even two similar-looking words do not mean the same thing while at others, different looking words mean the same. To fully comprehend what English is all about and master its grammar and vocabulary, you need to delve inside it to understand how it imparts the right meanings and what rules apply to do it right. Reciprocal and reflexive pronouns are an important part of the English language and help deliver the right meaning most effectively to the readers. It is necessary to study the correct use of reciprocal pronouns and reflexive to create perfectly meaningful and complete sentences that give readers an idea of exactly what you are trying to say without losing sense. This article by a coursework writing service explains what reflexive and reciprocal pronouns are all about and discuss their correct usage in various sentences.
What Is A Reflexive Pronoun?
A reflexive pronoun is a type of pronoun that has an adverb, adjective, pronoun, or noun before it to which it refers, so long as that antecedent is located within the same clause. In English grammar, a reflexive pronoun indicates that the person who is realizing the action of the verb is also the recipient of the action. While this might seem a bit strange at first, the following examples of reflexive pronouns and the accompanying list of reflexive pronouns will help you better understand what reflexive pronouns are all about. You must have noticed that you use reflexive pronouns frequently when speaking or writing.
List Of Reflexive Pronouns:
Here is a list of some of the most common reflexive pronouns used in the English language:
- Myself
- Yourself
- Herself
- Himself
- Itself
- Yourselves
- Ourselves
- Themselves
Some Examples Of Reflexive Pronouns:
In the following examples of reflexive pronouns, the reflexive pronoun in each sentence is italicized:
- I was in a hurry, so I washed the car You’re going to have to drive yourself to school today.
- He wanted to impress her, so he baked a cake
- Jennifer does chores herself because she doesn’t trust others to do them right.
- That car is in a class all by
- We don’t have to go out; we can fix dinner
- You are too young to go out by
- The actors saved the local theatre money by making costumes themselves.
What Is A Reciprocal Pronoun?
A reciprocal pronoun is a pronoun that indicates when two or more people are carrying out or have carried out an action of some type, with both receiving the benefits or consequences of that action simultaneously. It is important to know that any time something is done or given in return, reciprocal pronouns are used. The same is true for when any time a mutual action is expressed. There are only two reciprocal pronouns. Both of them allow you to make sentences simpler and easy to understand. They are particularly useful when you need to express the same general idea more than once.
- Each other
- One another
The good thing about reciprocal pronouns is that they are fairly easy to use. When you want to refer to two people, you will normally use “each other”. When referring to more than two people, for example, the students in a lecture hall, you will normally use “one another.”
Examples of Reciprocal Pronouns:
With the help of reciprocal pronouns, you can prevent repetition within the sentences. In the following examples, reciprocal pronouns have been italicized for easy comprehension.
- Maria and Juan gave each other gold rings on their wedding day.
- Maria and Juan kissed each other at the end of the ceremony.
- Terry and Jack were talking to each other in the hallway.
- We give each other gifts during the holidays.
- The students congratulated one another after giving practice speeches.
- The kids spent the afternoon kicking the ball to one another.
- The defendants blamed one another for the crime they were charged with.
You must also know that a reciprocal pronoun is a noun in nature, so sometimes you will need to add ‘s’ to act as an attribute. For example:
- They hold each other’s
- They often stay in each other’s
- The twins show one another’s
- Dad and I kept one another’s
Sometimes, when the subjects of a sentence are also used as the object of the same verb, at such places, using reflexive pronouns seems to be the right choice such as, ‘we see ourselves’ but in fact, it is not. As the reciprocal action of the verb is begin described here, therefore, a reciprocal pronoun is most suitable here.