Intensive Pronouns: Definition, Common Examples & Usage Tips

Have you ever wondered why we have stronger sentences than others?

These sentences are still more powerful with the help of intensive pronouns.

The unsung heroes of English grammatical emphasis are intensive pronouns.

These intensive pronouns are confused with their reflexive relatives.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. They are not simple space fillers in a sentence, they do something more than that. 

In this article, we shall talk about what is a intensive pronoun, how it is to be compared with a reflexive pronoun and how it can be used so that it does not sound like you are completely clueless.

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Key Takeaways

• The intensive pronouns are used to emphasize something and to engage someone to take action to a greater extent.

• You can omit them and put them out without altering the sentence.

• There are common pronouns between the intensive pronouns and the reflexive pronouns, although they are not used in the same way.

• They are based on personal pronouns and there are also 8 of them.

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What Is an Intensive Pronoun?

Intensive pronouns is a type of pronoun that can be applied in order to emphasize or to strengthen the noun or pronoun, which it indicates.

It puts an emphasis on the fact that somebody did something by himself/herself or without assistance.

Intensive pronouns do not have much in common with other pronouns except that you can omit them when taking any sentence and the main idea of the sentence would remain the same.

It is simply present there to drive a point not because it has to be. That is perhaps one way of quite naturally saying that an intensive pronoun is a way of saying ‘I mean it.’

Examples of Intensive Pronouns

English has just eight intensive pronouns, and they are: 

First Person	Second Person	Third Person
myself (singular)	yourself (singular)	himself (singular, masculine)
ourselves (plural)	yourselves (plural)	herself (singular, feminine)
–	–	itself (singular, neuter)
–	–	themselves (plural)

Common Intensive Pronouns

The eight intensive pronouns are the common ones, and for now, no new ones or avant-garde ones are in circulation.

These pronouns correspond directly to personal pronouns and follow a predictable pattern. 

Singular Intensive Pronouns

Below are examples of singular pronouns:

• Myself – This is used to emphasize “I”.
  • “I myself don’t understand the decision.”
  • “The letter was addressed to myself.”
• Yourself – This emphasizes the singular  “you”
  • “You yourself admitted the error.”
  • “Did you yourself write this report?”
• Himself – This emphasizes “he” in the sentence.
  • “The author himself will be signing books.”
  • “He himself couldn’t believe the results.”
• Herself – This emphasizes “she”
  • “The CEO herself announced the layoffs.”
  • “She herself designed the logo.”
• Itself – This emphasizes “it”
  • “The building itself is over 200 years old.”
  • “The problem itself isn’t complicated.”

Plural Intensive Pronouns

Below are examples of plural pronouns:

• Ourselves – emphasizes “we”
  • “We ourselves organized the entire event.”
  • “The decision was made by ourselves.”
• Yourselves – emphasizes “you” (plural)
  • “You yourselves requested this meeting.”
  • “Did you yourselves see what happened?”
• Themselves – emphasizes “they”
  • “The students themselves chose the topic.”
  • “They themselves were surprised by the outcome.”

How to Use Intensive Pronouns

Once you are aware that in general the main function of intensive pronouns is to highlight, it becomes as simple as counting to use the pronouns correctly.

Below is an easy guideline to assist you in how to utilize them: 

1. The Removal Test

The removal test is the easiest way to identify and use the intensive pronouns correctly.

You’re using an intensive pronoun correctly if you can take it out of your sentence and it still makes sense.

Examples:

• “The mayor himself cut the ribbon.” → “The mayor cut the ribbon.” ✓
• “I myself disagree with the policy.” → “I disagree with the policy.” ✓
• “She hurt herself.” → “She hurt.” ✗ (This is reflexive, not intensive)

2. Positioning Rules

Intensive pronouns can appear in two main positions syntactically:

Immediately after the noun/pronoun, they emphasize:

• “The teacher herself graded all the papers.”
• “You yourself said it was impossible.”

Later in the sentence:

• “The teacher graded all the papers herself.”
• “You said it was impossible yourself.”

3. Choose the Right Match

Always match the intensive pronoun to the noun it emphasizes:

• Singular subjects → myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself
• Plural subjects → ourselves, yourselves, themselves

Examples:

• “The dogs themselves opened the gate.” (plural)
• “The dog itself opened the gate.” (singular)

4. When to Use Them

Intensive pronouns should be used when you want to emphasize something.

You could also use them when an emphasis of importance is necessary.

Intensive vs. Reflexive Pronouns

In English grammar, it’s a bit tricky to tell the distinction between intensive and reflexive pronouns.

They are identical in appearance, but work quite differently

Key Differences

The main differences between reflexive and intensive pronouns are shown here.

Intensive Pronouns	Reflexive Pronouns
Add emphasis (optional)	Complete the sentence meaning, which makes it essential
Can be removed without changing the sentence’s meaning	Cannot be removed without breaking the sentence
Emphasize who did the action	Show the action was done to oneself

The most reliable way to tell them apart is the removal test:

Intensive pronouns can be removed:

• “The president himself signed the bill.” → “The president signed the bill.” ✓
• “I myself cooked dinner.” → “I cooked dinner.” ✓

Meanwhile, reflexive pronouns can’t be removed without trashing the sentence:

• “She cut herself while cooking.” → “She cut while cooking.” ✗ (Incomplete)
• “They blamed themselves for the mistake.” → “They blamed for the mistake.” ✗ (Grammatically incorrect)

When you’re still unsure, remember you can use our Ask AI feature for instant, personalized grammar help, and for on-demand clarification between intensive and reflexive pronoun usage.

Examples of Intensive Pronouns in Sentences

Understanding intensive pronouns becomes much easier when you see them in action.

We’ve created detailed examples organized by intensive pronoun roles to help you recognize and use them effectively.

1. To Emphasize Who Did Something

These examples highlight that a particular person (not someone else) performed the action:

• The CEO herself delivered the disappointing quarterly results to shareholders.
• My grandmother herself baked all 200 cookies for the charity event.
• The famous architect himself designed our small neighborhood library.
• We ourselves painted the entire house over the weekend.
• The presidential candidate himself knocked on doors in our neighborhood.

2. To Show Surprise or Contradiction

These examples express amazement or contradict expectations:

• Even the math teacher herself couldn’t solve the bonus problem.
• The professional chef himself burned the toast at breakfast.
• My technophobic father himself set up his new smartphone.
• The fitness instructor herself admitted she hates running.
• The company’s own lawyers themselves recommended against the merger.

3. To Highlight Personal Involvement

These examples emphasize direct, personal participation rather than delegating to others:

• I myself witnessed the entire argument between the neighbors.
• The senator herself answered phones at the campaign office.
• We ourselves built this treehouse without any professional help.
• The millionaire himself delivers meals to homeless shelters every Tuesday.
• You yourself admitted that the plan wouldn’t work.

4. Stress Importance

These examples emphasize the significance or critical nature of the subject:

1. The evidence itself proves the defendant’s innocence.
2. The building itself tells the story of our city’s architectural evolution.
3. The contract itself contains the answers to all your questions.
4. The data itself contradicts the popular theory.
5. The Constitution itself guarantees these fundamental rights.

Exercises for Practice

So, to help you practice, here are some great exercises that you should try your hand at.

1. Identify the Intensive Pronoun

Read each sentence and identify the intensive pronoun. Remember: it can be removed without changing the sentence’s basic meaning.

• The president himself announced the new policy changes.
• I myself have never seen such a beautiful sunset.
• The students themselves organized the school fundraiser.
• You yourself said it was impossible to finish on time.
• The ancient castle itself holds many secrets.

2. Intensive or Reflexive?

Determine whether each pronoun is intensive (emphasizes) or reflexive (completes the meaning).

• She cut herself while preparing dinner.
• The author herself will be signing books today.
• They blamed themselves for the project’s failure.
• The CEO himself responded to the complaint.
• He taught himself to play the guitar.

3. Add the Correct Intensive Pronoun

Complete each sentence with the appropriate intensive pronoun.

• The man _______ graded all fifty essays over the weekend.
• We _______ built this deck without any professional help.
• The document _______ contains all the evidence you need.
• You _______ requested this meeting last week.
• The children _______ planned the surprise party.

4. Rewrite for Emphasis

Rewrite each sentence by adding an intensive pronoun to create more emphasis.

• The manager solved the problem.
• I witnessed the entire incident.
• The machine stopped working.
• The students chose the topic.
• You made this decision.

5. Remove or Keep?

For each sentence, decide if the underlined pronoun should be kept (reflexive) or can be removed (intensive).

• The cat itself figured out how to open the door.
• The mayor himself cut the ribbon.
• She prepared herself for the interview.
• The evidence itself proves the case.
• He himself chose the color scheme.

Answers

Exercise 1: 1. himself, 2. myself, 3. themselves, 4. yourself, 5. itself

Exercise 2: 1. Reflexive, 2. Intensive, 3. Reflexive, 4. Intensive, 5. Reflexive

Exercise 3: 1. himself, 2. ourselves, 3. itself, 4. yourself, 5. themselves

Exercise 4: 1. The manager himself solved the problem. 2. I myself witnessed the entire incident. 3. The machine itself stopped working. 4. The students themselves chose the topic. 5. You yourself made this decision.

Exercise 5: 1. Remove(intensive), 2. Remove (intensive), 3. Keep (reflexive), 4. Remove (intensive), 5. Remove (intensive)

Common Errors with Intensive Pronouns

You can commit certain errors with intensive pronouns even after learning the fundamentals.

These are the most common mistakes and the ways not to commit them.

1. Using Intensive Pronouns as Subjects: Intensive pronouns cannot function as subjects. They can only emphasize existing subjects in the sentence.

Incorrect:

• Myself and John went to the store.
• Herself will handle the presentation.
• Ourselves organized the event.

Correct:

• John and I went to the store.
• She will handle the presentation.
• We organized the event.

2. Confusing Intensive with Reflexive Pronouns: Since intensive and reflexive pronouns use similar words, it’s easy to confuse them in your usage. So, always use the removal test. If removing the pronoun breaks the sentence or changes its meaning, it’s reflexive.

Incorrect identification:

• The teacher graded himself. (Trying to use intensively)
• The CEO announced herself the winner. (Incomplete reflexive)

Correct usage:

• The teacher himself graded the papers. (Intensive: emphasizes who graded)
• The teacher graded himself harshly. (Reflexive: graded his own performance)

3. Overusing Intensive Pronouns: Using too many intensive pronouns makes writing sound pretentious and repetitive. One intensive pronoun per sentence is usually enough.

Awkward overuse:

• I myself personally think that the manager himself should handle this himself.

Better version:

• I think the manager himself should handle this.

4. Using Intensive Pronouns in Formal Academic Writing: In most cases, formal writing involves less intensive pronouns than informal talk. It is advised to apply it only in case when emphasis is really needed to make it clear or make an impact.

Overly casual for academic tone:

• The study itself proves the hypothesis.
• The researchers themselves admit the limitations.

More appropriate:

• The study proves the hypothesis.
• The researchers acknowledge the limitations.

5. Creating Redundant Emphasis: Intensive pronouns already provide emphasis. So, if you are adding other emphatic words, this creates redundancy.

Redundant:

• The president himself personally delivered the speech.
• I myself did it with my own hands.

Cleaner:

• The president himself delivered the speech.
• I did it myself.

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FAQs About Intensive Pronouns

Final Thoughts

We have discussed what does intensive pronoun mean in writing and taken examples.

That is, intensive pronouns are the ones, as the name indicates, that are employed to stress or to intensify something. 

This makes it different from the way reflexive pronouns work, although they both use the same words.

The only thing you must remember is to resort to the intensive pronoun only when you have to and to avoid excessive usages of the intensive pronoun in your perorating or speeches.

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