M6ELA-5.2

Intensive Pronouns

Learn what intensive pronouns are, how they emphasize nouns, and why sentences like 'Mark and myself went' are incorrect.

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What this lesson covers

You've probably heard people say things like "I myself saw it" or "The teacher herself wasn't sure." Those words — myself, herself, himself — add emphasis and help you focus attention on exactly who did something. But here's the tricky part: many people misuse these words in places where a regular pronoun belongs, turning sentences like "Mark and myself went to the store" into mistakes. In this lesson, you'll learn what intensive pronouns really are, how to use them correctly for emphasis, and how to spot the common error where someone uses myself or herself when they should use I, me, she, or her.

What Is an Intensive Pronoun?

An intensive pronoun is a pronoun that emphasizes or adds focus to a nearby noun or pronoun. It has the same form as a reflexive pronoun — myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves — but it serves a different job in the sentence. When you use an intensive pronoun, you're saying "that particular person or thing" to draw attention. For example, in the sentence "The principal herself made the announcement," the word herself emphasizes that it was specifically the principal, not just any administrator or staff member. You can remove an intensive pronoun and the sentence still makes complete sense: "The principal made the announcement." The intensive pronoun just adds weight and emphasis. Think of it as a spotlight pointing to one specific noun.

How Intensive Pronouns Work in Sentences

Intensive pronouns appear right after (or very close to) the noun or pronoun they emphasize. Here are some real examples:

The author herself wasn't happy with the first draft. The intensive pronoun herself emphasizes that the author personally, specifically, had that feeling.

I myself don't understand why that rule exists. The intensive pronoun myself emphasizes the subject I.

You yourselves know that was wrong. The intensive pronoun yourselves emphasizes the subject you.

The problem itself isn't hard; the confusion is elsewhere. The intensive pronoun itself emphasizes the noun problem.

Notice that in every case, the intensive pronoun sits close to the noun or pronoun it emphasizes, and removing it leaves a complete, correct sentence. Intensive pronouns never act as the subject, object, or any working part of the sentence — they only add emphasis.

The Big Mistake: Intensive Pronouns in Place of Regular Pronouns

This is where students (and many adults) go wrong. People often use an intensive pronoun where a subject pronoun or object pronoun is actually needed — and that's not just emphasizing, that's a mistake.

Wrong: Mark and myself went to the store.

Here, myself looks like it's adding emphasis, but actually the sentence needs a subject pronoun. The correct version is: Mark and I went to the store. The word I is the subject; myself doesn't belong here at all.

Wrong: The teacher gave the assignment to Sarah and myself.

This sentence needs an object pronoun (the person receiving the action). The correct version is: The teacher gave the assignment to Sarah and me. The word me is the object; myself is wrong.

Wrong: Herself and I completed the project.

Herself is not a pronoun that can work as a subject. The correct version is: She and I completed the project. The word she is the subject pronoun.

Here's the rule: if you remove the intensive pronoun and the sentence stops making sense or becomes grammatically broken, then it was being used incorrectly. Intensive pronouns are optional add-ons for emphasis only. If the pronoun is doing a job in the sentence (being a subject, being an object), use a regular pronoun — not an intensive one.

Telling Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns Apart

Reflexive pronouns look identical to intensive pronouns, but they do entirely different work. A reflexive pronoun shows that an action bounces back to the person who did it. For example, in "I cut myself," the word myself is reflexive because I am both the person doing the cutting and the person being cut. In "She saw herself in the mirror," herself is reflexive because she is looking at herself. In both cases, the pronoun refers back to the subject and shows that the subject is acting on itself. By contrast, an intensive pronoun in "I myself saw the accident" adds emphasis; there is no action bouncing back. The sentence is not about I acting on I — it's just emphasizing that it was I who saw it. Same word forms; completely different jobs. Context tells you which one it is. If the pronoun receives the action of the verb or completes a phrase like "by themselves," it's reflexive. If it sits next to a noun to add emphasis and can be removed without breaking the sentence, it's intensive.

Editing Your Own Writing

When you're writing or revising, watch for any sentence where myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, or themselves appears. Ask yourself two questions: (1) Does this pronoun sit right next to a noun or pronoun and add emphasis? (2) Can I remove it and still have a complete, correct sentence? If the answer to both is yes, it's being used correctly as an intensive pronoun. If the answer to either is no, check whether you actually need a regular subject pronoun (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) or object pronoun (me, you, him, her, it, us, them). Replace the intensive pronoun with the correct one. For example, if you write "The team and myself think we should try again," ask: Does myself add emphasis? Not really—it's doing the job of a subject. Remove it: "The team and think we should try again." That's broken. So replace myself with the subject pronoun I: "The team and I think we should try again." That's correct.

Key terms

Intensive pronoun.
A pronoun that emphasizes or adds focus to a nearby noun or pronoun (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves). It does not function as a subject or object; it only adds emphasis.
Reflexive pronoun.
A pronoun that shows that an action bounces back to the person who did it, with both the agent and receiver being the same person (e.g., "I hurt myself").
Subject pronoun.
A pronoun that performs the action in a sentence or is described by the verb, such as I, you, he, she, it, we, or they.
Object pronoun.
A pronoun that receives the action of the verb or follows a preposition, such as me, you, him, her, it, us, or them.
Pronoun case.
The grammatical form of a pronoun that shows its role in the sentence (subject, object, or possessive).
Emphasis.
Special stress or importance given to a particular word or phrase to draw attention to it.

Worked example

Correct the sentence and explain why. "The athlete and myself ran the final lap."
First, identify what word is being used incorrectly. The sentence contains the word myself. Ask: Is myself here adding optional emphasis to a noun, or is it filling a needed role in the sentence? Look at the structure: "The athlete and myself ran..." The words the athlete and myself are together as the subject of the verb ran. That means this sentence needs subject pronouns. Myself is an intensive pronoun, and it cannot function as a subject. To check, try removing it: "The athlete and ran the final lap." That's broken—the sentence needs a pronoun that actually works as part of the subject. The subject is made up of two people: the athlete (noun) and [pronoun]. The pronoun that correctly fills this job is I (the subject pronoun). Corrected sentence: "The athlete and I ran the final lap." Why is this correct? Because I is a subject pronoun that properly pairs with the noun the athlete in a compound subject. The sentence does not use myself to add emphasis; it needs a working pronoun. That's why the intensive pronoun was wrong, and the subject pronoun is right.

Practice questions

Which sentence uses an intensive pronoun correctly?
  1. Sarah and myself finished the homework together.
  2. The coach herself wasn't sure what the rule meant.
  3. Ourselves saw the entire game from start to finish.
  4. The student gave the paper to myself and my friend.

Answer: The coach herself wasn't sure what the rule meant.

In this sentence, herself appears right after the noun the coach and adds emphasis (it stresses that it was specifically the coach who was unsure, not just any staff member). If you remove it—"The coach wasn't sure what the rule meant"—the sentence is still complete and correct. That's the mark of an intensive pronoun used correctly. The other sentences misuse intensive pronouns in places where regular pronouns are needed: "Sarah and I" (subject), not "Sarah and myself"; "We" (subject), not "Ourselves"; and "to my friend and me" (object), not "to myself and my friend."
Rewrite this sentence correctly. Explain which type of pronoun you used and why. "The librarian and myself found the book that was lost."

Answer: The librarian and I found the book that was lost. Explanation: The pronoun needed here is a subject pronoun (I), not an intensive pronoun. Myself cannot function as part of a compound subject. By removing it—"The librarian and found the book"—you can see the sentence breaks. You need a working pronoun that fills the subject role, so I is correct.

Students often choose myself here because it sounds emphatic or 'more correct,' but intensive pronouns cannot do the work of a subject pronoun. The sentence requires I because the subject is a compound of the librarian (noun) and the speaker (pronoun). A subject pronoun is the only choice that works grammatically. This mistake happens frequently because people mistakenly think intensive pronouns sound more polite or formal, but they are not correct in places where a regular pronoun is needed to carry out a job in the sentence.
Is the word myself used as an intensive pronoun or as an object pronoun in the sentence 'I myself don't know the answer'? Explain your answer.

Answer: Myself is used as an intensive pronoun. Explanation: The word myself sits right after the subject pronoun I and emphasizes it. If you remove myself—'I don't know the answer'—the sentence is still complete and grammatically correct. That shows myself is optional and serves only to add emphasis. An object pronoun would receive an action or follow a preposition; that doesn't happen here. In contrast, in the sentence 'I cut myself,' the word myself is reflexive (acting as an object) because the action of cutting bounces back to I. Context and position tell you the difference.

This question helps students see that the same word can have different functions depending on how it's used. The key difference: in an intensive use, the pronoun adds optional emphasis; in a reflexive use, the pronoun receives the action that the subject performs on itself. Position matters too—intensive pronouns sit right next to the noun or pronoun they emphasize, while reflexive pronouns typically follow the verb or are part of a phrase like 'by themselves.'

FAQ

Why is 'Mark and myself' wrong but 'I myself' is right?
'Mark and myself' is wrong because myself is being used where the subject pronoun I is needed. The compound subject 'Mark and myself' should be 'Mark and I.' In contrast, 'I myself' is correct because I is the subject pronoun doing its job, and myself is simply added right after it for emphasis. You can remove myself and still have a complete sentence: 'I saw it.' The intensive pronoun is optional and doesn't change the grammar.
Can I use myself anywhere in a sentence for emphasis?
No. Intensive pronouns must sit right next to the noun or pronoun they emphasize, and that noun or pronoun must already be working correctly in the sentence. For example, 'The teacher herself gave us extra time' is correct—herself emphasizes teacher, and teacher is working as the subject. But 'She gave the book to myself' is wrong—you're trying to use myself as an object pronoun, which is not its job. Use the proper object pronoun: 'She gave the book to me.'
How do I know if I should use myself or me?
Ask yourself: Is this pronoun receiving an action or following a word like 'to' or 'for'? If yes, use the object pronoun me. Example: 'She gave it to me.' If no, check whether you're adding optional emphasis right after a noun or pronoun that's already working correctly in the sentence. If yes, you can use the intensive pronoun myself. Example: 'I myself saw it.' In most cases, the answer is me, not myself.
What's the difference between intensive and reflexive pronouns if they look the same?
They look the same but do different jobs. A reflexive pronoun shows that an action bounces back to the subject—the subject acts on itself. Example: 'I hurt myself' (I is both the one doing the hurting and the one who got hurt). An intensive pronoun adds emphasis to a nearby noun or pronoun without the action bouncing back. Example: 'I myself saw it' (I is emphasized, but there's no action bouncing back). The context tells you which it is. If you can remove the pronoun and the sentence still makes sense, it's intensive. If removing it breaks the meaning, it's likely reflexive.

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