how we differenciate between emphasis and reflexive pronoun?

Hello,

I would like to explain the difference between the two with the help of examples.

We use a reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause. Reflexive pronouns end in “-self" (singular) or “-selves” (plural).

There are eight reflexive pronouns, namely myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves.

Few instances of the same are:

- He was ashamed of himself after his misconduct at school;

- Please help yourselves;

- Infants are unable to look after themselves; etc.

Emphatic pronouns, on the other hand, are used to just emphasise the action of the subject. For instance,

1. He himself ordered the birthday cake;

2. I consulted the property dealer myself, etc.

Kindly note that an emphatic pronoun can be removed from the sentence and the core meaning would not be affected. A reflexive pronoun, on the other hand, is vital. The sentence wouldn’t make complete sense or wouldn’t seem logical if you remove the reflexive pronoun.

Compare:
He himself cut the cake. He cut the cake.
He cut himself. He cut …what?

Thus, I hope the above explanations and the instances helped you understand the difference between the two.