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Is "the mayor himself spoke to the crowd" intensive or reflexive

User Max Linke
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4 votes

Answer:

Intensive pronoun

Step-by-step explanation:

Intensive and reflexive pronouns are very similar, they have the same form: myself, yourself, himself/herself/ itself, ourselves, yourselves (plural), themselves; but their functions in a sentence differ.

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and object are the same.

  • You can help yourself to dress – correct
  • You can help you to dress – incorrect

Intensive pronouns are used to add emphasis to the subject or antecedent of the sentence. Usually, an intensive pronoun is right after the noun or pronoun it’s modifying.

  • Who threw the garbage?” “I did it myself.”

Important to know: intensive pronouns aren’t essential to a sentence, you can omit it, but reflexive pronouns are important for a sentence's meaning.

As for our sentence - The mayor himself spoke to the crowd.

If we remove the pronoun himself, does the sentence still make sense?

Yes, it would keep its meaning and needed information - The mayor spoke to the crowd.

Therefore, 'himself' is an intensive pronoun in this sentence.

User Simon Ordo
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