1. When the action of the verb is directed back to the subject:
* "I hurt myself." The action of hurting is directed back to the speaker.
* "The cat washed itself." The cat is both the one performing the action and the recipient of it.
2. For emphasis:
* "I did it myself." This emphasizes that the speaker did the action independently, without any help.
3. With certain verbs that usually require a reflexive pronoun:
* "He dressed himself." Some verbs, like "dress," "enjoy," and "behave," are often used with a reflexive pronoun, even though it's not always grammatically necessary.
Important Notes:
* Reflexive pronouns are NOT used when the object is a different person or thing than the subject:
* "My friend helped me." (Not "My friend helped myself.")
* Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" or "-selves" and agree with the subject in number and person:
* I - myself
* You - yourself
* He, She, It - himself, herself, itself
* We - ourselves
* You - yourselves
* They - themselves
Let me know if you'd like more examples or want to discuss specific cases!