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Introduction
Have you fixed anything recently? Phil fixed his garden gate and Becca fixed her bike. Listen to Pippa and Neil talking about fixing problems and grammar guru Georgie explaining how to use 'itself', 'by itself', 'in itself' and other reflexive pronouns for emphasis.
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Grammar explanation
using reflexive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns end in -self and -selves. We use reflexive pronouns when the subject and the object of a verb are the same.
- I bought myself a coffee.
- The door opened by itself.
- She made herself a cup of tea.
by + reflexive pronouns
We use this structure to mean 'on one's own' or 'alone'.
- The wheels are going round by themselves.
- My friends left and then I was all by myself.
- The illness got better by itself. I didn't need to go to the doctor.
in + itself
We use this structure for emphasis, for example to talk about a specific part of a problem.
- I didn't think it was a massive problem in itself, but actually it was quite complicated.
- This job takes up most of my time in itself, I can't work a second job too.
pronoun + reflexive pronoun
We can emphasise the subject of the sentence by following the pronoun with the relevant reflexive pronoun.
- The father gave his son a book to read that he himself had enjoyed when he was little.
- I know you're worried about the letter arriving on time. Don't worry, I myself will post it tomorrow morning.
- The restaurant owners made sure that all the ingredients came from farms that they themselves had visited.
To do
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