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Guide B1 · Intermediate Grammar

Myself or Each Other? Reflexive and Reciprocal Pronouns

Choose reflexive and reciprocal pronouns by meaning. Compare myself, each other, by myself and emphasis, with 12 explained checks.

7 min read 1,247 words Updated Oct 22, 2026
Two adults compare folded paper birds while a third person examines a separate paper model.
On this page (7 sections)

Who does the action, and who receives it? That simple check helps you choose myself, themselves or each other. This B1 guide covers self-directed actions, shared actions, emphasis and by myself. Allow about 20 minutes for the explanation and 12 checks.

Who receives the action?

Compare three meanings. “I helped her”: I gave help to a different person. “I helped myself”: the person giving and receiving the help is the same. “We helped each other”: help passed between members of the group. These sentences are not interchangeable.

One-way, returning and two-way arrows distinguish helping her, helping myself and helping each other.
The three action paths and full example sentences are also selectable above.

A reflexive pronoun points back to the subject of its clause: “Lena introduced herself.” Lena did the introducing and was the person introduced. Compare “Lena introduced her”: her normally refers to another woman. Choose by reference, not by which word sounds more formal.

Match the reflexive forms

I → myself; you (one person) → yourself; he → himself; she → herself; it → itself; we → ourselves; you (more than one person) → yourselves; they → themselves. The form must match the intended subject. “Please introduce yourself, Ben” addresses one person. “Please introduce yourselves, Ben and Ana” addresses two.

The plural endings use -selves, not -self: ourselves, yourselves, themselves. Singular they can refer to one person whose gender is not specified: “Each visitor can introduce themselves.” Themself also occurs with singular they. This guide’s plural they examples involve a group and use themselves.

Same participants, different direction

“Ava and Ben checked themselves in the mirror” means each checked their own appearance. “Ava and Ben checked each other’s work” means Ava checked Ben’s work and Ben checked Ava’s. Use the possessive each other’s before work. The apostrophe belongs before the s: each other’s, not each others’.

Each other is not limited to exactly two people. “The four neighbours help each other” describes help within a group. One another can usually express the same reciprocal meaning. In these exercises, it is accepted where it fits. A plural subject alone does not tell you the direction: the context must show whether the action returns to the same people or passes between them.

By myself and I did it myself

By + reflexive can mean alone or without help. “I sat by myself” usually means nobody sat with me. “I built it by myself” often means nobody helped, even if other people were in the room. Add context when the distinction matters: “I made the model by myself while my friends talked nearby.”

An emphatic reflexive highlights who did something: “The organiser herself checked the list” or “I checked it myself.” Removing herself or myself leaves the basic sentence complete. Depending on context, “I did it myself” may also suggest that I did not get help. Do not force these expressions into a single meaning when the surrounding facts allow more than one.

Natural English and common errors

English often leaves out the reflexive with ordinary daily routines: “I washed and dressed.” “I dressed myself” is useful when independent ability or a contrast matters. It is not always wrong, but it may add a meaning you did not intend.

Do not use myself as a formal substitute for me: “Please email Sam and me.” You are the receiver of someone else’s email, so ordinary object me fits. Test the sentence without Sam: “Please email me.” Use “I sent myself a reminder” when I both send and receive it.

Choose and explain

Your turn 0 of 12 answered

Answer on paper, then open the explanations below. Enable JavaScript to check answers here.

1 I looked at my own face in the mirror. I looked at ___.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

myself

I performs the action and the same person receives it; the mirror context makes the reference explicit.

2 Two guests: “Please introduce ___.”

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

yourselves

The speaker addresses more than one person, so plural yourselves is required.

3 Ava checks Ben’s work; Ben checks Ava’s. They check ___ work.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

each other’s

The checking crosses between the two people in both directions.

4 The machine switches ___ off automatically.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

itself

Singular it refers back to the machine, so use itself.

5 No one helped Leo, although friends were nearby. He made it ___.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

by himself

Here by himself means without help. It does not mean that he was physically alone.

6 “We congratulated ourselves.” Choose the meaning.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

We praised our own group.

Ourselves refers back to we; the group praises itself.

7 “The four colleagues thanked one another.” Choose the meaning.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Thanks passed between the colleagues.

One another, like each other, expresses reciprocal action and can refer to more than two people.

8 “The owner herself opened the door.” What does herself add?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Emphasis on the owner doing it

The core statement is The owner opened the door. Herself emphasizes the actor.

9 “I sat by myself; nobody else was in the room.” What does by myself mean here?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Alone

The following clause explicitly says no one else was present.

10 Rewrite the sentence, correcting only the reflexive pronoun: “We taught ourself the game.”
Answer and explanation

We taught ourselves the game.

Also accepted: We taught ourselves the game

We takes plural ourselves, not ourself.

11 Use the ordinary object pronoun: “Please email Sam and myself.”
Answer and explanation

Please email Sam and me.

Also accepted: Please email Sam and me

The sender is not I, so me is the normal object form; coordination does not require myself.

12 Rewrite the sentence, correcting only the possessive spelling: “They read each others’ notes.”
Answer and explanation

They read each other’s notes.

Also accepted: They read each other's notes.; They read each other’s notes; They read each other's notes

The reciprocal possessive is each other’s, with the apostrophe before s.

Apply in a practical team task

Your turn · self-review

Use it yourself

Make your own answer before opening the model. Other accurate answers are possible. Use the checklist to review meaning and form.

Practice only. Your writing stays on this page; it is not submitted or saved.

  1. Model answer and explanation

    I checked my own notes. Then we checked each other’s notes. “One another’s notes” is also possible. Check who performs and receives each action, use a possessive before notes, and avoid claiming that you were alone unless the facts say so.

Use the same action paths in the repair-café lesson. Before choosing a pronoun, name the actor and receiver. For by phrases, decide whether the context means alone, without help, or both.

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