What is a Reflexive Pronoun?

Reflexive pronouns are words ending in -self or -selves that are used when the subject and the object of a sentence are the same (e.g., I believe in myself). They can act as either objects or indirect objects. The nine English reflexive pronouns are myself, yourself, himself, herself, oneself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves.

Grammatical terms might seem complicated and a bit arbitrary when you first hear them, but they really aren’t, once you get to know them. The term reflexive is a good example. Through Latin, reflexive is related to reflect; this is useful to remember because a reflexive pronoun reflects back upon a sentence’s subject.

Reflexive Pronouns Are Direct or Indirect Objects

A reflexive pronoun can be a direct object in a sentence when the subject and the direct object are one and the same.

Jack decided to reward Mary with a dinner out.

Jack decided to reward himself with a dinner out.

In the first sentence, Mary is the object of reward. Jack, the subject, is the object of reward in the second sentence, so we use the pronoun himself.

Reflexive pronouns can also play the indirect object role in a sentence.

Cynthia pours a cup of tea for me every morning.

Cynthia pours a cup of tea for herself every morning.

It is worth noting that referring twice to the same noun as subject and object (rather than using a reflexive pronoun for the object) sounds just a bit creepy. “Jack decided to cook Jack a special supper,” for example, sounds unnerving to a native English speaker.

Common Errors with Reflexive Pronouns

The misuse of reflexive pronouns abounds in certain sectors. (We’re looking at you, Business Speak.) The most common mistake of all is the incorrect use of reflexive pronouns in compound subjects or compound objects in a sentence.

Here is an example of the former type of offense.

Andrew and myself will conduct today’s meeting.

How do we know that myself does not belong as part of the compound subject (Andrew and the speaker) in this sentence? Remove Andrewfrom the equation to see if what remains functions correctly.

Myself will conduct today’s meeting.

Clearly, myself does not work, but the subject pronoun I does.

I will conduct today’s meeting.

Andrew and I will conduct today’s meeting.

The improper use of reflexive pronouns as objects is just as prevalent in today’s business world.

You may submit your expenses to Mr. Martin or myself before Friday.

The subject of this sentence is you, and the indirect objects are Mr. Martin and the speaker. Taking Mr. Martin out of the sentence will reveal that myself will not work.

You may submit your expenses to myself before Friday.

Rather, the sentence requires the object pronoun me.

You may submit your expenses to me before Friday.

You may submit your expenses to Mr. Martin or me before Friday.

Reflexive Pronouns as Intensive Pronouns

Intensive pronouns are reflexive pronouns that are used to emphasize the subject or antecedent in a sentence, often in the sense of “and not someone else.” You can tell when a word ending in -self or -selves is being used as an intensive pronoun because the sentence it is part of will not change in meaning significantly if you remove it.

Jack made his supper himself. (No one else did it for him.)

I closed the store on Saturday myself. (I didn’t have an employee to do it.)

We ourselves were forced to pilot the boat to safety. (Perhaps the captain was indisposed.)

Reflexive Pronoun for the Singular They

Although you should probably avoid using the singular they until it is more widely accepted as good English, the Associated Press green-lit its use this year. One of the reasons for not using the singular they in place of the more traditional, albeit more complicated, he or she is that it yields a very awkward reflexive pronoun: themself. For the time being, it is best to avoid constructions using themself, even if it results in more words.

Every parent needs to take a break for themself now and again.

Every parent needs to take a break for himself or herself now and again.

Every parent needs to take a break for him- or herself now and again.

Now that you’ve learned more about reflexive pronouns, give yourself a pat on the back.

Comma Before Parenthesis or After?

Commas may be placed after the closing parenthesis but not before either the opening or the closing parenthesis. If the sentence would not require any commas if the parentheses were removed, the sentence should not have any commas when the parentheses are present.

You’ve likely seen writers use parentheses to set apart information from the main sentence. But do you know how to use them correctly? One common issue writers have is how to punctuate parentheses properly, specifically whether to use a comma after parentheses or before.

Comma Before Parenthesis or After?

You’ll often see commas and parentheses used alongside one another. The question is: Do you place the comma after parentheses or before? Generally speaking, commas should never be placed before parentheses. Consider the examples below, and note the proper comma placement:

After opening the new cookie tin, (and eating several of the cookies) Mary had a hard time replacing the lid.

After opening the new cookie tin (and eating several of the cookies), Mary had a hard time replacing the lid.

Also note that the comma would be necessary even if the parentheses were removed, because it joins a dependent and independent clause:

After opening the new cookie tin, Mary had a hard time replacing the lid.

Commas and Parentheses Aren’t Always Used Together

Commas and parentheses are often used together, but they serve separate purposes within a sentence. Thus, commas should be used with parentheses only if the sentence would require a comma without the parentheses. The example below illustrates this point:

Peter cleaned his room before going out to play basketball.

Peter cleaned his room (grumbling all the while), before going out to play basketball.

Peter cleaned his room (grumbling all the while) before going out to play basketball.

Since the main sentence without the parentheses does not require a comma, it’s not necessary to add a comma when inserting the parentheses.

Using Commas Within Parentheses

When using commas and parentheses, it’s also important to distinguish commas that punctuate the main sentence from commas that punctuate the material within the parentheses. You will see commas properly used within parentheses, but this is only the case if these commas serve the parenthetical information, not the main sentence. See the sample sentences below:

The teacher chose three students (Rachel, Ashley, and Tom) to represent the class at the convention.

When they arrived (finally!), the students were promptly shown to their rooms.

When they arrived (, finally!) the students were promptly shown to their rooms.

When they arrived (finally!,) the students were promptly shown to their rooms.

In the first sentence, the commas within the parentheses are necessary because they separate items in a series, and this series makes up the information within the parentheses. In the second sentence, however, the comma is used to punctuate the main sentence (specifically, to separate the dependent and independent clauses). Therefore, the comma belongs in the main sentence, not within the parentheses.

Comma Between Correlative Conjunction Sets

Correlative pairs of conjunctions include words like neither…nor, not…but, and both…and. For this punctuation rule, we can also consider sets of words like not only…but also. When pairs or sets of conjunctions are being used, they do not need to be separated from each other by a comma. However, a comma may be used between the conjunctions to accommodate another grammar rule (see Exceptions).

Either the blue shirt, or the red sweater will look good with your jeans.

Either…or is a correlative pair of conjunctions. The comma should be removed from this sentence so the conjunctions are not separated from each other

Some common correlative conjunction sets include:

• either . . . or
• neither . . . nor
• both . . . and
• whether . . . or
• not only . . . but also

Commas Rarely Separate Correlative Conjunctions

Generally speaking, commas should not separate correlative conjunction pairs. Consider the following examples:

Either the blue shirt, or the red sweater will look good with your jeans.

Either the blue shirt or the red sweater will look good with your jeans.

I can’t decide whether to have pizza, or a cheeseburger.

I can’t decide whether to have pizza or a cheeseburger.

Exceptions Regarding Commas Between Correlative Conjunctions

As is the case with many grammar rules, there are exceptions to the rule regarding commas between correlative conjunctions. If the comma serves another grammatical function in the sentence, then it should be used, whether or not it separates parts of a correlative conjunction pair.

For instance, if commas are necessary to offset a nonrestrictive clause, then they may be used between the correlative pairs of conjunctions. Consider the example below:

Neither the job as a cashier, which paid only minimum wage, nor the washroom attendant’s job interested the woman with two PhDs.

Note that the correlative conjunction pair “neither . . . nor” is separated by the two commas necessary to offset the nonrestrictive clause “which paid only minimum wage.”

Commas may also separate correlative conjunction pairs when the comma separates two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction. This is common with the correlative conjunction “not only . . . but also.” Look at the sentence below:

Not only did Jeff need a textbook, but he also needed a laptop for his college class.

Note that when part of a correlative conjunction pair doubles as a coordinating conjunction, a comma precedes it. Moreover, the subject of the independent clause (in this case, “he”) also separates the “but” and “also” in this case.

Commas usually don’t separate pairs of correlative conjunctions, but there are exceptions.

No-one, Noone, or No One—Which Is Right?

• No one is right.
• No-one is an uncommon variant form. It’s best to stick to the two-word version.
• Noone is wrong.

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Too many choices can sometimes confuse you, but with no one, it’s easy to learn which should be your go-to spelling.

No-one, Noone, or No One—Which Should I Use?

The correct way to spell no one is as two words, without the hyphen:

No one warned us about the incoming storm.

We went to the schoolyard, but there was no one there.

If you add a hyphen to no one, you get a much less common variant spelling of the word: no-one. Although it’s not technically incorrect, the hyphenated version cannot always be used instead of no one:

No-one person can lift that much weight.

No one person can lift that much weight.

Noone is not an acceptable way to spell no one in any context:

We owe nothing and noone.

We owe nothing and no one.

Examples

He’d warned his colleagues of the dangers of Brexit and no one had bothered to listen.

The Guardian

China’s first astronaut says he heard mysterious knocks during his first flight in space – but no one has been able to explain the cause of them.

The Daily Mirror

The Prince arrived in the Commonwealth realm of St Kitts and Nevis after an overnight crossing from Antigua, but docked so early that there was no one there to welcome him.

The Daily Telegraph

There are several reasons for a word to have multiple spellings. Sooner or later you’ll run across one that will make you second-guess your spelling choices. Camaraderie is that type of word. Minuscule has become that type of word as well. And that’s without mentioning all the words that shift their spelling depending on the country in which they’re used.

Bad Writing: What it Means for Your Career (INFOGRAPHIC)

Is poor writing an indicator that you will be less successful in your career?

Kyle Wiens, CEO at iFixit, suggested as much in a July 20, 2012 article (“I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why.”) which appeared in Harvard Business Review’s blog network.

Yesterday, in honor of National Grammar Day, Harvard Business Review posted another article (“Grammar Should Be Everyone’s Business”) written by Grammarly CEO Brad Hoover. Brad’s article provides real data to back up Mr. Wiens’ supposition that poor grammar predicts poor career outcomes.

Here’s a breakdown of the data:

• Professionals with fewer grammar errors in their Linkedin profiles achieved higher positions. Those who failed to progress to a director-level position within the first 10 years of their careers made 2.5 times as many grammar mistakes as their director-level colleagues.

• Fewer grammar errors correlate with more promotions. Professionals with one to four promotions over their 10-year careers made 45 percent more grammar errors than those with six to nine promotions in the same time frame.

• Fewer grammar errors associate with frequent job changes. Those who remained at the same company for more than 10 years made 20 percent more grammar mistakes than those who held six jobs in the same period. This could be explained in a couple of ways: People with better grammar may be more ambitious in their search for promising career opportunities, or job-hoppers may simply recheck their résumés between jobs.

Are you interested in sharing the data? Tweet about it now!

Or, let us know what you think in the comments below. Have your writing skills ever influenced your career in a positive or a negative manner?

Grammar Basics: How to Use Singular “They”

You probably learned about “they” and other pronouns in the first grade. “They” is the third-person plural pronoun, used for talking about groups of things or people.

Henry and Lucy want to go to the movies, but they (Henry and Lucy) don’t have enough money.

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they (people in general) will surprise you with their ingenuity.” —George S. Patton

When you’re only talking about one person, though, the only pronoun choices you have are “he” or “she,” even if you don’t know the gender of the person in question. At one time, usage guides advised writers to always use “he,” but in time, people started to think about gender equality. Should the pronoun “he” continue to represent indefinite pronouns and singular nouns in cases of unknown or unspecified gender? In speech and even in some writing, people had already started using “they” as a singular pronoun. In fact, people were using the singular “they” all the way back in the fourteenth century. So why not also accept the singular “they” in formal writing? Some people still balk at the practice, calling it an antecedent-pronoun agreement error. However, the American Dialect Society voted the singular “they” as the 2015 Word of the Year. Bill Walsh, copy editor and author of “The Elephants of Style” calls the move “the only sensible solution to English’s lack of a gender-neutral third-person singular personal pronoun.” How do you use it?

Use the singular “they” to replace unknown or unspecified gender:

I will have an interview with an executive. (You have never met this person, and you do not know their sex.) Rather than the bulky “he or she,” use “they” to refer to this singular person: They will ask me questions that I hope I can answer!

Formerly, “he” filled this role. Now, you have a gender-neutral option. What will “they” think of next?

Which kind of writing mistakes most reduce news articles’ credibility?

This poll is part of a series that Grammarly is running aimed at better understanding how the public feels about writing, language learning, and grammar.

Please take the poll and share your thoughts in the comments. We can’t wait to hear from you!

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