Reflexive Pronouns
* Function: They *reflect* the action back to the subject of the sentence. They are essential to the sentence's meaning.
* Example: "She hurt herself." (Without "herself", it's unclear who was hurt.)
* Forms: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Intensive Pronouns
* Function: They *emphasize* the subject of the sentence, but are not essential to its meaning. You could remove them without changing the basic meaning.
* Example: "I did it myself." (The sentence still makes sense without "myself".)
* Forms: Same as reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, etc.)
Key Difference:
The main difference is necessity. Reflexive pronouns are *required* to make the sentence grammatically correct and clear. Intensive pronouns are *optional* and simply add emphasis.
Here's a way to think about it:
* Reflexive: The action is *directed back at* the subject.
* Intensive: The subject is *doing the action independently*.
Example:
* Reflexive: "The dog licked itself." (The dog is the subject and the action is directed back at the dog)
* Intensive: "The dog walked itself to the park." (The dog is the subject and is walking independently.)
In Summary:
* Reflexive: Essential to sentence meaning, indicates action directed back at subject.
* Intensive: Optional, adds emphasis, shows the subject acting independently.