Question

Select an appropriate pronoun to complete the sentence:

I went out with Sally because she didn’t want to go out by _______.

a) Yourself
b) Ourself
c) Herself
d) Himself

Answer 1

Hint: To be able to distinguish between the given words, one must understand the usage of reflexive pronouns and the context in which they are being used.

Complete step-by-step answer:

The given sentence basically implies that the narrator went out with Sally because she did not want to go out on her own. All the given options are reflexive pronouns.

Option a, “yourself” indicates that the narrator should have been talking in second person, while “she” implies third person, this option is incorrect.

Option b, “ourself” is not a word in English language, the correct word is “ourselves”, hence this option is incorrect.

Option c, “herself” is the correct reflexive pronoun, since Sally is clearly a female and “herself” refers to a female.

Option d, “himself”, is incorrect because it implies a male and Sally is a female.

Note: To be able to understand this question, one must have the concept of reflexive pronouns clear. Reflexive pronouns are words which end in –self or –selves, they are used when the subject and the object of the sentence are the same (ex.- You should do it yourself). There are nine reflexive pronouns in English, i.e., yourself, myself, ourselves, themselves, himself, herself, yourselves, oneself and itself.