Is Themselves a Personal Pronoun? | Rules And Usage

You’ve probably written a line such as “They hurt themselves,” then paused and wondered, “is themselves a personal pronoun?” or does it sit in a different box. This question has a clean answer once you separate two ideas—what “personal pronoun” means in grammar books, and what job themselves is doing in the sentence.

This article gives you a practical way to label themselves, spot the two main uses (reflexive and intensive), and avoid the common mix-ups that editors flag. You’ll get quick tests, model sentences, and a checklist before you hit publish.

What “Personal Pronoun” Means In Real Grammar

In school, “personal pronoun” often means the basic set: I, you, he, she, it, we, they plus their object forms me, you, him, her, it, us, them. Many modern grammars use a wider umbrella and treat personal pronouns as a family that includes possessive forms (my, mine, your, yours) and the reflexive set (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves).

So, whether themselves “is a personal pronoun” depends on the label system you’re using. Under the broad family label, yes: it’s part of the personal pronoun system. Under a narrow classroom label, teachers may call it a “reflexive pronoun” and stop there. Both labels can be right.

How “Themselves” Is Used	Model Sentence	Quick Reason
Reflexive object (standard)	They taught themselves to code.	Subject and object point to the same people.
Reflexive after a preposition	They kept the plan to themselves.	The preposition needs an object that refers back.
Intensive (emphatic)	They built the desk themselves.	It adds emphasis, not a new object.
Reflexive in a clause	They saw themselves as beginners.	The complement links back to the subject.
Reflexive with a passive-style verb	They found themselves smiling.	The action circles back to the same subject.
Reflexive with “by” meaning alone	They finished the hike by themselves.	“By” signals “without help” and takes a reflexive.
Reflexive in set phrases	They were beside themselves with relief.	Fixed idiom uses the reflexive form.
Intensive with a noun phrase	The teachers themselves asked for feedback.	Emphasis lands on the noun, not the verb.

Is Themselves a Personal Pronoun?

Yes—when you use the term “personal pronoun” as the broad category that includes reflexive forms. In that system, themselves is the reflexive form connected to they/them. It shares the same person and number features, and it participates in the same agreement patterns.

If you’re writing for a class or a workbook that uses the narrow label, you can still answer the question without drama: “Themselves is a reflexive pronoun (a type of personal pronoun in many grammars).” That line keeps both audiences happy and keeps your terminology straight.

The Two Jobs “Themselves” Does In Sentences

Reflexive Use

In reflexive use, themselves points back to the subject. The subject does something, and that action lands on the same group of people. It stops a sentence from sounding like the subject acted on someone else.

• They blamed themselves for the mix-up.
• They introduced themselves at the door.
• They promised themselves a break after the exam.

A fast test: replace themselves with them. If the meaning breaks or shifts to a different group, you needed the reflexive form.

Intensive Use

In intensive use, themselves adds punch. It signals “and not someone else,” or “without help,” or “in person.” You can often remove it and keep the sentence grammatical, just less emphatic.

• They themselves approved the final draft.
• The artists themselves answered questions after the show.
• They fixed the bike themselves.

The test here is different: try deleting themselves. If the sentence still works and the only loss is emphasis, you’re looking at intensive use.

How To Tell If “Themselves” Is Needed Or Optional

Writers get tripped up when they feel the sentence needs a pronoun, so they drop in themselves as a “safe” choice. It isn’t always safe. Reflexives have a rule: they need an earlier noun or pronoun in the same clause to point back to.

Use It When A Clear Antecedent Is Present

These are the clean, standard cases. The subject is right there, and themselves clearly circles back to it.

• They reminded themselves to lock the door.
• When they heard the news, they calmed themselves down.
• They kept the details to themselves.

Skip It When It Has Nothing To Point Back To

This is the classic error: using a reflexive where a regular object pronoun is required. You’ll see it in résumés, formal emails, and stiff academic writing.

• Wrong: Please contact Jane or myself.
• Right: Please contact Jane or me.
• Wrong: The form was sent to John and themselves.
• Right: The form was sent to John and them.

If no subject in that clause refers to the same people, themselves has no anchor. Use them or a noun instead.

Singular “They” And Themselves

Most people meet themselves with a plural antecedent: “The students prepared themselves.” Then a singular-they sentence shows up: “If a student needs help, they should ask…” and writers start second-guessing.

In current edited English, singular they is widely accepted in many contexts. Some style guides still prefer themself as the reflexive for a strictly singular antecedent, while many publications keep themselves even with singular they because it’s familiar to readers.

If your goal is clean, low-friction prose, choose one approach and apply it consistently inside the same document. If you’re writing for a specific style guide, follow its preference. Merriam-Webster’s usage notes on singular they are a solid snapshot of current practice: Merriam-Webster singular “they” usage notes.

Quick Choices That Read Smoothly

• Formal policy text: “A participant should keep their badge with them at all times.” (No reflexive needed.)
• Singular antecedent, reflexive needed: “A participant should remind themselves to sign in.”
• When your publication uses themself: “A participant should remind themself to sign in.”

When you’re not bound to a guide, themselves is a default in general-audience writing.

Grammar Patterns Where “Themselves” Shows Up A Lot

After Verbs Of Self-Directed Action

Some verbs almost beg for a reflexive because the action is naturally self-directed: introduce, prepare, blame, convince, remind, teach. In these lines, themselves stops ambiguity.

• They introduced themselves before the talk began.
• They convinced themselves the risk was manageable.
• They taught themselves algebra.

With Prepositions Like “To” And “For”

Reflexives can appear after prepositions when the object needs to point back to the subject: “to themselves,” “for themselves,” “by themselves.”

• They kept a copy for themselves.
• They promised a treat to themselves after finals.
• They did the full setup by themselves.

A caveat: some preposition phrases are fixed and idiomatic. “Beside themselves” means overwhelmed. “Among themselves” signals a private group conversation. These phrases are learned as units.

As A Marker Of Emphasis Next To A Noun

Intensive themselves can sit right after a noun to stress who did something. It’s common in reporting and academic writing when you want to rule out assistants, delegates, or hearsay.

• The researchers themselves double-checked the data.
• The managers themselves signed the forms.

Common Mistakes With “Themselves” And How To Fix Them

Most errors fall into a small set of patterns. Once you know them, you can spot them in seconds during revision.

Mistake 1: Using A Reflexive To Sound Formal

This is the “myself” problem in disguise. Writers swap in a reflexive to sound polished, then the sentence loses its grammatical anchor.

• Wrong: Send questions to Maria or themselves.
• Right: Send questions to Maria or them.

Mistake 2: Reflexive With The Wrong Antecedent

Reflexives must match the antecedent in person and number. If your subject is singular, you can’t point back with a plural reflexive unless you’re using singular they.

• Wrong: The company prepared themselves for audits. (Company = singular in most styles.)
• Right: The company prepared itself for audits.
• Right (plural meaning): The staff prepared themselves for audits.

Mistake 3: Confusing Emphasis With Reflexive Meaning

Sometimes a writer wants emphasis, but the sentence accidentally reads as reflexive action.

• Unclear: They painted themselves. (Sounds like body paint.)
• Clear emphasis: They painted the house themselves.
• Clear reflexive: They painted themselves for the performance.

Reference Rules You Can Trust

If you want a neutral, widely taught definition of reflexive pronouns and their forms, Cambridge Dictionary’s grammar section is straightforward and easy to cite: Cambridge Grammar on reflexive pronouns.

These references settle disputes about naming and core rules, which helps when you’re editing student work or building a style sheet.

A Fast Editing Checklist For “Themselves”

When you’re scanning a draft, you don’t need to diagram every sentence. You just need a tight set of checks that catch the usual problems.

1. Find each themselves and circle the nearest subject in the same clause.
2. Ask: does the pronoun point back to that subject?
3. Try swapping themselves with them. If the meaning changes, keep the reflexive.
4. Try deleting it. If the sentence still works, it’s probably intensive.
5. Check agreement with singular nouns like company, team, committee.

Draft Problem	What Readers Hear	Fix In One Move
“Contact Sam or themselves.”	No clear antecedent for the reflexive.	Change to “them” or repeat the noun.
“The company congratulated themselves.”	Number mismatch in many styles.	Use “itself” or switch to a plural subject.
“They painted themselves.”	Reflexive action, not emphasis.	Add the object: “painted the room themselves.”
“Each student should remind themselves…”	Singular-they choice shows up.	Keep “themselves,” or use “themself” per guide.
Too many emphatic uses	Tone feels forceful or repetitive.	Delete most intensives; keep one where it matters.
Reflexive far from its subject	Hard to track who “self” refers to.	Move the reflexive closer to the subject.
Reflexive inside a long list	Unclear linkage in coordination.	Rewrite with two clauses or repeat “they.”

Practice Sentences You Can Borrow

Use these patterns to keep reference tight. Swap in your own words and read the result out loud.

Reflexive Patterns

• They reminded themselves to ______ before ______.
• They asked themselves whether ______.
• They saw themselves as ______, not ______.

Intensive Patterns

• They finished the project themselves.
• The applicants themselves requested a retake.

Quick Recap Without The Jargon

If you’re still asking “is themselves a personal pronoun?”, the practical answer is yes in most modern grammar labels, and its main role is reflexive: it points back to they/them. It can also work as an intensive pronoun when you want emphasis. The fix for most errors is simple: if there’s no subject to point back to, use them or rewrite the sentence.

If you’re teaching, have students underline the subject and draw an arrow to the reflexive. No arrow means no reflexive.