Study materials
Where Ukrainian says себе or adds -ся to a verb, English has separate words.
I cut myself.
Help yourself!
We meet at six.
No reflexive here.
This article explains the forms myself, yourself and themselves, the phrases enjoy yourself, help yourself and by myself, verbs that do not take a reflexive in English, the difference between each other and themselves, and when to use me instead of myself.
Forms of reflexive pronouns
A reflexive pronoun is used when the action turns back on the subject, the one who does it. Each person has its own form. The singular ends in -self and the plural in -selves.
| Who | Reflexive pronoun |
|---|---|
| I | myself |
| you, one person | yourself |
| he | himself |
| she | herself |
| it | itself |
| we | ourselves |
| you, several people | yourselves |
| they | themselves |
She hurt herself while cooking.
The machine switches itself off at night.
Take care of yourselves!
Said to several people.
Hisself and theirselves do not exist. The pronoun is built on him and them, so himself and themselves.
Fixed phrases
A few phrases are worth learning as they are. Enjoy yourself means have a good time. Help yourself means take some, serve yourself. By myself means alone or without help, just like on my own.
Enjoy yourself at the party!
Help yourself to some cake.
My sister can tie her shoes by herself.
A reflexive pronoun at the end of a sentence also stresses that no one helped: I baked this cake myself. Own means belonging to that person and comes after a possessive word, a word that says whose it is: my, your, our, their. We bake our own bread means we make it ourselves.
Verbs without a reflexive
Many Ukrainian verbs end in -ся. Most of them take no reflexive pronoun in English.
| Ukrainian | English |
|---|---|
| вмиватися | wash |
| одягатися | get dressed |
| зустрічатися | meet |
| почуватися | feel |
| розслаблятися | relax |
| сідати | sit down |
How do you feel?
We meet at the café every Friday.
Sit down and relax.
Each other or themselves
Each other means one another. It is used when two or more do the action to one another. Themselves means each does the action to himself or herself.
The two cats looked at each other.
The children looked at themselves in the mirror.
Each child looked at their own reflection.
Me or myself
Myself does not replace me. If the action does not turn back on the subject, use me, him, her, us or them. The same goes after a preposition, a small word such as to, for or between.
Send the photos to Anna or me.
This is between you and me.
When you and someone else are the subject together, say I and put yourself second: Anna and I went to the cinema. People say me and Anna went in conversation, but in writing it is a mistake.
Common mistakes
The first mistake is a form that does not exist.
He fixed the bike hisself. → He fixed the bike himself.
Hisself does not exist.
The second mistake is myself in place of me.
Send it to Anna or myself. → Send it to Anna or me.
The action does not turn back on the subject.
The third mistake is a reflexive pronoun after meet or feel.
We meet ourselves at six. → We meet at six.
Meet takes no reflexive.
The first mistake shows in the form itself. The pronoun is built on him and them, so himself and themselves. The second shows if you ask who does the action. If it is aimed at someone other than the subject, use me. The third shows in the verb. Meet, feel, relax and wash take no reflexive pronoun.