Después de aprender los Object Pronouns, en esta lección aprenderemos los Reflexive Pronouns.
Cuando el Sujeto y el Objeto en una oración se refieren a la misma persona o cosa, usamos un Reflexive Pronouns.
Es la única área de la gramática inglesa que es reflexiva.
| Subject Pronouns |
Reflexive Pronouns |
|---|---|
| I | Myself |
| You | Yourself |
| He | Himself |
| She | Herself |
| It | Itself |
| We | Ourselves |
| You (plural) | Yourselves |
| They | Themselves |
Si estás utilizando (You) en plural, el pronombre reflexivo es yourselves.
Ejemplos de oraciones que usan Reflexive Pronouns:
- My daughter likes to dress herself without my help.
- I taught myself to play the guitar.
- My cat always licks itself.
When to use reflexive pronouns (Cuándo usar pronombres reflexivos)
1. Cuando el sujeto y el objeto se refieren a la misma persona o cosa.
- He accidentally cut himself while he was chopping the vegetables.
- She bought a present for herself.
- We helped ourselves to the free drinks at the launch party.
- They injured themselves during the rugby match.
- I enjoyed myself at the concert.
- The dog is scratching itself – it must have fleas!
2. Los usamos para enfatizar.
- ¡La autora me firmó el libro!
- Lo hice yo mismo.
3. En algunos casos, lo usamos para tener un significado similar a también.
- Annabelle was pretty happy last night. I was pretty happy myself.
When NOT to use reflexive pronouns
1. Hay varios verbos en inglés con los que rara vez o nunca usamos pronombres reflexivos (como en otros idiomas).
Estos incluyen: adapt, complain, concentrate, get up, hide, lie down, meet, move, relax, remember, shave, shower, sit down.
2. Después de una preposición de lugar o ubicación, usamos un pronombre personal y no un pronombre reflexivo.
- He put the backpack next to him.
Ourselves, Themselves and Each Other
Usamos Each Other cuando dos o más personas o cosas realizan la misma acción entre sí.
- They stared into each other’s eyes.
- The hate each other.
Y para aclarar el contraste:
- Mike and Carol bought each other presents for Christmas
(Mike bought a present for Carol and Carol bought a present for Mike). - Mike and Carol bought themselves presents for Christmas
(Mike bought a present for himself and Carol bought a present for herself).
Pronombres reflexivos con objetos
Usamos verb + reflexive pronoun + objet cuando hacemos algo por nosotros mismos.
- She cooked herself a quiche.
- We taught ourselves French.
Usamos verb + objet + reflexive pronoun cuando queremos enfatizar que otra persona no realizó la acción (o asistió).
- I repaired the tire myself.
- They did the homework themselves.
- My brother spoke to his boss himself about a raise.
By + Reflexive Pronouns
Usamos by + myself/yourself/himself, cuando estamos solos o no con otra persona.
- Jacob went to the party by himself.
- Emma was sitting by herself.
En la próxima lección aprenderemos Wh Questions.
