Reflexive or emphatic


We enjoyed ourselves.

Is ourselves used as a reflexive pronoun or as an emphatic pronoun in this sentence?

asked Jun 02 '13 at 08:19 Z. A. Jazley Expert

1 answer


When the reflexive is used as in your example, I think it is better think of it as a subject complement than as an object. In other words, it elaborates on the subject 'we' instead of introducing a direct object. The reflexive allows the action of the main verb to return to the subject - it reflects it.

link comment answered Jun 02 '13 at 09:44 Ahmad Barnard Expert

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