What is an intensive pronoun? Definition and examples

What is an intensive pronoun?

First, let’s briefly go over what a pronoun is: pronouns are a part of speech that refers to a noun. For instance, if you’re talking about a friend and refer to the person as “she” or “her” at any point, you’re using pronouns to describe them. You can also refer to multiple people or objects by using the pronouns “they” or “them.”

Now, let’s learn about intensive pronouns and how to identify them. In short, an intensive pronoun is formed when you add the word “self” after a pronoun. Intensive pronouns look like this:

• Myself/ourselves
• Yourself/yourselves
• Themselves
• Himself
• Herself
• Itself
• Oneself

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Intensive pronoun examples in action

The primary purpose of an intensive pronoun is to emphasize a noun or pronoun already present in the sentence. Intensive pronouns play a role in highlighting the importance of the subject or object they are referring to. Here are some examples of how intensive pronouns look in a sentence:

• I can’t wait to see the man himself in concert!
• We will not be able to handle this intense workload ourselves.
• The painting itself is enough to brighten up the room.

In the examples above, each intensive pronoun works in tandem with a noun or pronoun that comes before it. “Himself” refers to “man,” “ourselves” refers to “we,” and “itself” refers to “the painting.”

What’s the difference between intensive vs. reflexive pronouns?

Intensive and reflexive pronouns can be hard to tell apart because they look very similar. It would be inaccurate to say that any pronoun that ends with the word “self” is exclusively an intensive pronoun, as reflexive pronouns also end with “self.” Although these two types of pronouns look the same, they have entirely different functions.

The key difference between intensive versus reflexive pronouns is that while intensive pronouns are not essential for a sentence to convey meaning, reflexive pronouns are indispensable. Basically, you can remove an intensive pronoun and still have a complete sentence, but you can’t do the same with a reflexive pronoun. Let’s take a look at an example of each type to help clarify the difference between the two:

• Intensive pronoun: I myself could never do improv, but I enjoy watching the performances.
• Reflexive pronoun: I decided to reward myself by buying a ticket to the improv show.

Both sentences use the pronoun “myself” in different ways. You’ll notice that when “myself” is used as an intensive pronoun, the sentence would still make sense without it. If you were to say, “I could never do improv” instead of “I myself could never do improv,” it would be clear that the subject “I” could never do improv.

The same cannot be said for the sentence with the reflexive pronoun, as “myself” is necessary for the sentence to make sense. If you remove “myself” from the example with the reflexive pronoun, it would be unclear who or what is being rewarded. Other nouns and singular pronouns like “him” or “her” could fit in the place of “myself,” but “myself” cannot be removed altogether.

Improve your writing skills with intensive pronouns

Intensive pronouns may not be necessary for a sentence to make sense, but they are still useful for improving the way a sentence looks. Learning how to use intensive pronouns properly will help you enhance the way you write. Browse our writing resources to find more tips on using pronouns.