Reflexive pronoun
Encyclopedia
A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun
that is preceded by the noun, adjective, adverb or pronoun to which it refers (its antecedent) within the same clause. In generative grammar
, a reflexive pronoun is an anaphor
that must be bound by its antecedent
(see binding
). In some languages, there is a difference between reflexive
and non-reflexive pronoun
s; but the exact conditions that determine whether or not something be bound are not yet well defined and depend on the language in question. It depends on the part of the sentence that the pronoun is in.
In English
, the function of a reflexive pronoun is among the meanings of the words myself, yourself, thyself (archaic), himself (in some dialects, "hisself"), herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, ourself (as majestic plural), yourselves, and themselves (in some dialects, "theirselves"). In the statements "I see him" and "She sees you", the objects are not the same persons as the subjects, and regular pronouns are used. However, when the person being seen is the same as the person who is seeing, the reflexive pronoun is used: "I see myself" or "She sees herself".
, the reflexive pronoun has its origins in Proto-Indo-European
. In some languages, the distinction between the normal objective and the reflexive pronouns exists mainly in the third person: whether one says "I like me" or "I like myself", there is no question that the object is the same person as the subject; but, in "They like them(selves)", there can be uncertainty about the identity of the object unless a distinction exists between the reflexive and the nonreflexive. In some languages, this distinction includes genitive
forms: see, for instance, the Danish examples below. In languages with a distinct reflexive pronoun form, it is often gender-neutral
.
A reflexive pronoun is a special kind of pronoun that is usually used when the object of a sentence is the same as the subject. Each personal pronoun (such as I, you, and she) has its own reflexive form:
Reflexive pronouns are primarily used in three situations: when the subject and object are the same (e.g., "He watched himself on TV."), as the object of a preposition when the subject and the object are the same (e.g., "That man is talking to himself."), and to emphasize the subject through an intensive pronoun
(e.g., "They ate all the food themselves.")
It is common in some subsets of the English-speaking population to use standard objective pronouns
to express reflexive relations, especially in the first and sometimes second persons, and especially for a recipient: for example, "I want to get me some supper." This usage is non-standard.
, the reflexive pronoun is zìjǐ (自己), meaning 'self'. The antecedent to which it refers can be inferred by context, which is generally the subject of the sentence:
The antecedent can be reiterated before the reflexive pronoun; this can be used to refer to an antecedent that's not the subject:
Like English, the reflexive can also be used to emphasize the antecedent:
The reflexive can also be the subject of an embedded clause, unlike English, which must use the non-reflexive form:
Also unlike English, the reflexive can refer to antecedents outside of the embedded clause. Because of this, it may be ambiguous whether the antecedent refers to the subject of the main clause or the embedded clause, in which case it may be necessary to reiterate the antecedent:
The reflexive pronoun in Cantonese Chinese
, jihgéi, cognate to Mandarin zìjǐ (and thus also written as 自己), also follows the same rules. This was also the case in Classical Chinese
, which simply used 己 (Old Chinese
: *kəʔ).
In Danish, there is also a difference between normal and reflexive genitives:
In the latter case, "sin" is a case of a reflexive possessive pronoun, i.e. it reflects that the subject in the phrase (Anna) owns the object (the book).
reflexive pronoun is si, or sia for the possessive (to which can be added -j for plural agreement and -n for direct object).
form soi.
There are also intensifying reflexive pronouns, such as moi-même, toi-même, lui-même/elle-même/soi-même, nous-mêmes, vous-mêmes and eux-mêmes/elles-mêmes, exactly similar in meaning (but not in use) to myself, yourself….
and that is the word sig. It does not differ between genders
nor number
.
The reflexive pronouns are as such:
:
ed by their antecedents, because of the syntactic structure of Japanese, long distance binding is allowed.
uses the ordinary oblique forms of the personal pronouns as reflexive pronouns. In the 3rd person, Latin uses the special reflexive pronoun se, which is the same for all genders and numbers, and declined in all case
s except the nominative and the vocative.
is a constructed language
, mostly based on Romance languages
.)
There are two ways to make a reflexive sentence in Portuguese. The first way is adding the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos - also vos). The second form is used to stress the reflexive action, especially when using the word "mesmo" (self)
("sama sebya" - feminine form, "sami sebya" - plural).
In addition, the reflective pronoun sebya gave rise the reflective affix -sya (-ся) used to generate reflexive verb
s:
There are certain stylistic differences between the three usages, despite being rendered in the same way in English.
Russian has a reflexive possessive as well.
region, it is replaced by "vos mismo/a"), but "mi mismo" — that is, they usually postpend the genitive.
Examples with "wash oneself":
Note that the indirect object "le"/"les" do not override "se" in the reflexive.
Pronoun
In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun , such as, in English, the words it and he...
that is preceded by the noun, adjective, adverb or pronoun to which it refers (its antecedent) within the same clause. In generative grammar
Generative grammar
In theoretical linguistics, generative grammar refers to a particular approach to the study of syntax. A generative grammar of a language attempts to give a set of rules that will correctly predict which combinations of words will form grammatical sentences...
, a reflexive pronoun is an anaphor
Anaphora (linguistics)
In linguistics, anaphora is an instance of an expression referring to another. Usually, an anaphoric expression is represented by a pro-form or some other kind of deictic--for instance, a pronoun referring to its antecedent...
that must be bound by its antecedent
Antecedent (grammar)
In grammar, an antecedent is a noun, noun phrase, or clause to which an anaphor refers in a coreference. For example, in the passage "I did not see John because he wasn't there", "John" is the antecedent of the anaphor "he"; together "John" and "he" are called a coreference because they both refer...
(see binding
Binding (linguistics)
In linguistics, binding theory is any of a broad class of theories dealing with the distribution of pronominal and anaphoric elements. The idea that there should be a specialised, coherent theory dealing with this particular set of phenomena originated in work in transformational grammar in the 1970s...
). In some languages, there is a difference between reflexive
Reflexive verb
In grammar, a reflexive verb is a verb whose semantic agent and patient are the same. For example, the English verb to perjure is reflexive, since one can only perjure oneself...
and non-reflexive pronoun
Pronoun
In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun , such as, in English, the words it and he...
s; but the exact conditions that determine whether or not something be bound are not yet well defined and depend on the language in question. It depends on the part of the sentence that the pronoun is in.
In English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, the function of a reflexive pronoun is among the meanings of the words myself, yourself, thyself (archaic), himself (in some dialects, "hisself"), herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, ourself (as majestic plural), yourselves, and themselves (in some dialects, "theirselves"). In the statements "I see him" and "She sees you", the objects are not the same persons as the subjects, and regular pronouns are used. However, when the person being seen is the same as the person who is seeing, the reflexive pronoun is used: "I see myself" or "She sees herself".
Origins and usage
In Indo-European languagesIndo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
, the reflexive pronoun has its origins in Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
. In some languages, the distinction between the normal objective and the reflexive pronouns exists mainly in the third person: whether one says "I like me" or "I like myself", there is no question that the object is the same person as the subject; but, in "They like them(selves)", there can be uncertainty about the identity of the object unless a distinction exists between the reflexive and the nonreflexive. In some languages, this distinction includes genitive
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
forms: see, for instance, the Danish examples below. In languages with a distinct reflexive pronoun form, it is often gender-neutral
Gender-neutral pronoun
A gender-neutral pronoun is a pronoun that is not associated with any gender. It designates two distinct grammatical phenomena, the first being pronouns/periphrastics that have been assigned nontraditional meanings in modern times out of a concern for gender equity, and the second being genderless...
.
A reflexive pronoun is a special kind of pronoun that is usually used when the object of a sentence is the same as the subject. Each personal pronoun (such as I, you, and she) has its own reflexive form:
- I-myself
- you (singular)-yourself
- he-himself
- she-herself
- it-itself
- we-ourselves
- you (plural)-yourselves
- they-themselves
Reflexive pronouns are primarily used in three situations: when the subject and object are the same (e.g., "He watched himself on TV."), as the object of a preposition when the subject and the object are the same (e.g., "That man is talking to himself."), and to emphasize the subject through an intensive pronoun
Intensive pronoun
- In English :An intensive pronoun is a pronoun used to add emphasis to a statement; for example, "I did it myself." While English intensive pronouns use the same form as reflexive pronouns, an intensive pronoun is different from a reflexive, because the pronoun can be removed without altering the...
(e.g., "They ate all the food themselves.")
Non-reflexive usage in English
It is increasingly common to use reflexive pronouns without local linguistic antecedents to refer to discourse participants or people already referenced in a discourse: for example, "Please, forward the information to myself." Such formulations are usually considered non-standard. Within the linguistics literature, reflexives with discourse antecedents are often referred to as logophors. Standard English does allow the use of logophors in some contexts: for example, "John was angry. Embarrassing pictures of himself were on display." However, within Standard English, this logophoric use of reflexives is generally limited to positions where the reflexive does not have a coargument. The newer non-standard usage does not respect this limitation. In some cases, reflexives without local antecedents may be better analyzed as emphatic pronouns without any true reflexive sense.It is common in some subsets of the English-speaking population to use standard objective pronouns
Objective (grammar)
An objective pronoun in grammar functions as the target of a verb, as distinguished from a subjective pronoun, which is the initiator of a verb. Objective pronouns are instances of the oblique case....
to express reflexive relations, especially in the first and sometimes second persons, and especially for a recipient: for example, "I want to get me some supper." This usage is non-standard.
Reflexive pronouns in languages other than English
Chinese
In Mandarin ChineseStandard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
, the reflexive pronoun is zìjǐ (自己), meaning 'self'. The antecedent to which it refers can be inferred by context, which is generally the subject of the sentence:
- Wǒ bǎohù zìjǐ. (我保护自己。) (I protect myself.)
- Tā bǎohù zìjǐ. (他保护自己。) (He protects himself.)
- Wǒ gěi tā zìjǐ de shū. (我给他自己的书。) (I gave him my own book.)
- Tā gěi wǒ zìjǐ de shū. (他给我自己的书。) (He gave me his own book.)
The antecedent can be reiterated before the reflexive pronoun; this can be used to refer to an antecedent that's not the subject:
- Wǒ gěi tā wǒ zìjǐ de shū. (我给他我自己的书。) (I gave him my own book.)
- Wǒ gěi tā tā zìjǐ de shū. (我给他他自己的书。) (I gave him his own book.)
Like English, the reflexive can also be used to emphasize the antecedent:
- Wáng xiānshēng zìjǐ zuò le. (王先生自己做了。) (Mr. Wang himself did it.)
The reflexive can also be the subject of an embedded clause, unlike English, which must use the non-reflexive form:
- Tā juédé zìjǐ hěn cōngmíng. (他觉得自己很聪明。) (He feels that he is very clever.)
Also unlike English, the reflexive can refer to antecedents outside of the embedded clause. Because of this, it may be ambiguous whether the antecedent refers to the subject of the main clause or the embedded clause, in which case it may be necessary to reiterate the antecedent:
- Wǒ juédé Wáng xiānshēng bù xǐhuān zìjǐ. (我觉得王先生不喜欢自己。) (I feel that Mr. Wang doesn't like me/himself.)
- Wǒ juédé Wáng xiānshēng bù xǐhuān wǒ zìjǐ. (我觉得王先生不喜欢我自己。) (I feel that Mr. Wang doesn't like me.)
- Wǒ juédé Wáng xiānshēng bù xǐhuān tā zìjǐ. (我觉得王先生不喜欢他自己。) (I feel that Mr. Wang doesn't like himself.)
The reflexive pronoun in Cantonese Chinese
Standard Cantonese
Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton in southern China, and is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue Chinese....
, jihgéi, cognate to Mandarin zìjǐ (and thus also written as 自己), also follows the same rules. This was also the case in Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese...
, which simply used 己 (Old Chinese
Old Chinese
The earliest known written records of the Chinese language were found at a site near modern Anyang identified as Yin, the last capital of the Shang dynasty, and date from about 1200 BC....
: *kəʔ).
Danish
- Jeg beskytter ham. (I protect him.)
- Han beskytter ham. (He protects him. Him designates a person other than the one designated by He.)
- Han beskytter sig selv. (He protects himself.)
In Danish, there is also a difference between normal and reflexive genitives:
- Anna gav Maria hendes bog. (Anna gave her [Maria's] book to Maria.)
- Anna gav Maria sin bog. (Anna gave her [Anna's] book to Maria.)
In the latter case, "sin" is a case of a reflexive possessive pronoun, i.e. it reflects that the subject in the phrase (Anna) owns the object (the book).
Esperanto
The EsperantoEsperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
reflexive pronoun is si, or sia for the possessive (to which can be added -j for plural agreement and -n for direct object).
- Li legas liajn librojn. (He reads his (someone else's) books.)
- Li legas siajn librojn. (He reads his (own) books.)
- Ŝi legas siajn librojn. (She reads her (own) books.)
- Ili legas siajn librojn. (They read their (own) books.)
- Li amas lin. (He loves him (someone else).)
- Li amas sin. (He loves himself.)
- Li rimarkis ŝian amon al si. (He noticed her love for herself (reflexive).)
- Li rimarkis ŝian amon al li. (He noticed her love for him (using a normal pronoun).)
- Li rimarkis sian amon al si. (He noticed his (own, reflexive) love for himself (reflexive).)
- Li rimarkis sian amon al li. (He noticed his (own, reflexive) love for him (someone else, not reflexive).)
- Li diras, ke la hundo lavas sian vizaĝon. (He says that the dog is washing its (the dog's) face.)
- Li diras, ke la hundo lavas lian vizaĝon. (He says that the dog is washing his (the speaker's or someone else's, but not the dog's) face.)
French
In French, the main reflexive pronoun is 'se', with its indefiniteIndefinite pronoun
An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that refers to one or more unspecified beings, objects, or places.-List of English indefinite pronouns:Note that many of these words can function as other parts of speech too, depending on context...
form soi.
There are also intensifying reflexive pronouns, such as moi-même, toi-même, lui-même/elle-même/soi-même, nous-mêmes, vous-mêmes and eux-mêmes/elles-mêmes, exactly similar in meaning (but not in use) to myself, yourself….
Icelandic
There is only one reflexive pronoun in IcelandicIcelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
and that is the word sig. It does not differ between genders
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
nor number
Number
A number is a mathematical object used to count and measure. In mathematics, the definition of number has been extended over the years to include such numbers as zero, negative numbers, rational numbers, irrational numbers, and complex numbers....
.
The reflexive pronouns are as such:
- Reflexive pronoun: sig (himself/itself/herself/themselves)
- reflexive possessive pronoun: sinn (his/her/its/their)
| Singular Grammatical number In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions .... and plural Plural In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one... |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | (hann/hún/það/þeir/þær/þau) ("he/she/it/they") | ||
| Accusative | sig | ||
| Dative | sér | ||
| Genitive | sín | ||
Examples
The reflexive pronoun refers to the third personGrammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
:
- Hann talar um sig. (masc. sing.) (He talks about himself)
- Þeir tala um sig. (masc. plur.) (They talk about themselves)
- Stúlkan flýtti sér heim. (fem. sing.) (the girl hurried [herself] home)
- Þær flýttu sér heim. (neut. plur.) (they [the girls] hurried [themselves] home)
- Barnið naut sín. (neut. sing.) (the child enjoyed itself)
- Börnin nutu sín. (neut. plur.) (the children enjoyed themselves)
Japanese
In the Japanese language, jibun 自分 and jibunjishin 自分自身 are reflexive pronouns that correspond roughly to 'herself' and 'himself'. They differ from English in some ways; for example, jibun and jibunjishin do not have to agree in gender or number where English reflexives do. Jibun can further be bound locally or long distance where English reflexives must always occur locally. Although both English and Japanese pronouns must be c-commandC-command
In syntax, c-command is a relationship between nodes in parse trees. Originally defined by Tanya Reinhart ,it corresponds to the idea of "siblings and all their descendants" in family trees.-Definition and Example:...
ed by their antecedents, because of the syntactic structure of Japanese, long distance binding is allowed.
Latin
In the 1st and 2nd person, LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
uses the ordinary oblique forms of the personal pronouns as reflexive pronouns. In the 3rd person, Latin uses the special reflexive pronoun se, which is the same for all genders and numbers, and declined in all case
Grammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
s except the nominative and the vocative.
| Singular Grammatical number In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions .... or Plural Plural In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one... |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine Grammatical gender Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be... |
Feminine Grammatical gender Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be... |
Neuter Grammatical gender Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be... |
|
| Nominative | — | ||
| Vocative | — | ||
| Accusative | sē, sēsē | ||
| Genitive | suī | ||
| Dative | sibi | ||
| Ablative | sē, sēsē | ||
| Locative | sē, sēsē | ||
Macedonian
| Reflexive pronouns | Examples |
|---|---|
| себе/ sebe (himself, herself) се/ se (self) |
Тој пиша на самиот себе си. / Toj piša na samiot sebe si/. — He wrote to himself. Јас се мијам глава./ Jas se mijam glava. — I [ref. pron.] wash my head. |
Novial
(NovialNovial
Novial [nov- + IAL, International Auxiliary Language] is a constructed international auxiliary language intended to facilitate international communication and friendship, without displacing anyone's native language...
is a constructed language
Constructed language
A planned or constructed language—known colloquially as a conlang—is a language whose phonology, grammar, and/or vocabulary has been consciously devised by an individual or group, instead of having evolved naturally...
, mostly based on Romance languages
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
.)
- Lo vida lo. (He sees him.)
- Lo vida se. (He sees himself.)
- Anna donad lan libre a Maria. (Anna gave her [Maria's] book to Maria.)
- Anna donad sen libre a Maria. (Anna gave her [Anna's] book to Maria.)
Portuguese
- Quando ele o ver. (When he sees him.)
- Quando ele se ver. (When he sees himself.)
There are two ways to make a reflexive sentence in Portuguese. The first way is adding the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos - also vos). The second form is used to stress the reflexive action, especially when using the word "mesmo" (self)
- Eu me machuquei. (I hurt myself.)
- Eu machuquei a mim [mesmo]. (I hurt myself.)
- Tu sempre te machucas . (You always hurt yourself.)
- Tu sempre machucas a ti [mesmo]. (You always hurt yourself)
- Ele se machucou ontem. (He hurt himself yesterday.)
- Ela se machucou ontem. (She hurt herself yesterday.)
- Ele machucou a si [mesmo]. (He hurt himself.)
- Nós nos machucamos. (We hurt ourselves.)
- Nós machucamos a nós [mesmos]. (We hurt ourselves)
- Eles se machucam todos os dias. (They [masc] hurt themselves everyday.)
- Elas machucam a si [mesmas] todos os dias. (They [fem] hurt themselves everyday.)
- Vós nunca vos machucais [unsual, almost nonexistent] (You never hurt yourselves.)
- Vocês nunca se machucam. (You never hurt yourselves.)
Russian
The particle sebya universally means "oneself"/"myself"/"himself", etc. An emphasized form is "sam sebya"("sama sebya" - feminine form, "sami sebya" - plural).
- Он поранил себя. On poranil sebya. ("He has wounded himself.")
- Он поранил сам себя. On poranil sam sebya. ("He has wounded himself." Literally: "He himself has wounded himself.")
In addition, the reflective pronoun sebya gave rise the reflective affix -sya (-ся) used to generate reflexive verb
Reflexive verb
In grammar, a reflexive verb is a verb whose semantic agent and patient are the same. For example, the English verb to perjure is reflexive, since one can only perjure oneself...
s:
- Он поранился (He has wounded himself.)
There are certain stylistic differences between the three usages, despite being rendered in the same way in English.
Russian has a reflexive possessive as well.
- Он любит свою жену. On lyubit svoyu zhenu. (He loves his wife (his own). - Reflective possessive)
- Он любит его жену. On lyubit yego zhenu (He loves his wife (someone else's). - It is ambiguous in English, but not in Russian.)
Serbian
- Ana je dala Mariji njenu knjigu. (Ana gave her [Maria's] book to Maria.)
- Ana je dala Mariji svoju knjigu. (Ana gave her [Ana's] book to Maria.)
Spanish
In Spanish, the reflexive pronouns are: me/nos (first person singular/plural), te/os (second person) or se (third person). In Latin America, "os" is not used, being replaced by "se" for the pronoun "ustedes". For clarity, there are optional intensifying adjuncts for reflexive pronouns, accompanied by "mismo/a" (masculine and feminine forms for "self"). These are not strictly adjuncts: "si mismo/a" (instead of "se"), "ti mismo/a" (in the River PlateRío de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
region, it is replaced by "vos mismo/a"), but "mi mismo" — that is, they usually postpend the genitive.
Examples with "wash oneself":
- yo me lavo (I wash myself.)
- nosotros nos lavamos (We wash ourselves.)
- tú te lavas (You wash yourself.)
- vos te lavás (You wash yourself, Rioplatense SpanishRioplatense SpanishRioplatense Spanish or River Plate Spanish is a dialectal variant of the Spanish language spoken mainly in the areas in and around the Río de la Plata basin of Argentina and Uruguay, and also in Rio Grande do Sul, although features of the dialect are shared with the varieties of Spanish spoken...
) - usted ("Ud.") se lava (You wash yourself. [Formal])
- ustedes ("Uds.") se lavan (You wash yourselves. [Formal, plural])
- vosotros os laváis (in Spain)
- él se lava (He washes himself.)
- ella se lava (She washes herself.)
- ellos se lavan (They wash themselves. [Masculine])
- ellas se lavan (They wash themselves. [Feminine])
Note that the indirect object "le"/"les" do not override "se" in the reflexive.
Slovene
- Ana je dala Mariji njeno knjigo. (Ana gave her [Maria's] book to Maria.)
- Ana je dala Mariji svojo knjigo. (Ana gave her [Ana's] book to Maria.)
Hungarian
- Beszélek magamról. (I talk about myself.)
- Beszélsz magadról. (You talk about yourself.)
- Beszél magáról. (He talks about himself. But also: She talks about herself. It talks about itself. And formal version of you: You talk about yourself.)
- Beszélünk magunkról. (We talk about ourselves.)
- Beszéltek magatokról. (You talk about yourselves.)
- Beszélnek magukról. (They talk about themselves.)
See also
- Reflexive clause
- Reciprocal (grammar)Reciprocal (grammar)A reciprocal is a linguistic structure that marks a particular kind of relationship between two noun phrases. In a reciprocal construction, each of the participants occupies both the role of agent and patient with respect to each other...
- Reciprocal pronounReciprocal pronounThe reciprocal pronouns in English are one another and each other. Together with the reflexive pronouns — myself, yourself, ourselves, yourselves, and others — they are classified as anaphors....
- Reflexive verbReflexive verbIn grammar, a reflexive verb is a verb whose semantic agent and patient are the same. For example, the English verb to perjure is reflexive, since one can only perjure oneself...
- LogophoricityLogophoricityIn linguistics, logophoricity is a kind of coreferential anaphora, where the third-person subject of a dependent clause is marked as identical to the subject of the main clause. Logophoric systems are frequently restricted to indirect speech....