Reflexive Pronouns: myself, yourself, himself
Reflexive Pronoun (নিজেকে বোঝানোর সর্বনাম)
Introductionভূমিকা
A reflexive pronoun — myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves — is used when the person doing the action and the person receiving it are the same: 'She cut herself.' It can never be the subject of a sentence, which is why 'Myself Rahim' is not English; the sentence you want is 'I am Rahim.'
যখন কাজটা যে করছে আর যার উপর পড়ছে দুজনেই একই, তখন reflexive pronoun বসে — myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves: 'She cut herself.' এটি কখনো বাক্যের subject হতে পারে না, তাই 'Myself Rahim' ইংরেজি নয় — বলতে হবে 'I am Rahim.'
Definitionসংজ্ঞা
A reflexive pronoun points the action back at the subject. It is formed with -self in the singular (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself) and -selves in the plural (ourselves, yourselves, themselves).
Reflexive pronoun কাজটাকে আবার subject-এর দিকেই ফিরিয়ে দেয়। একবচনে -self (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself) আর বহুবচনে -selves (ourselves, yourselves, themselves)।
Bangla Explanationবাংলা ব্যাখ্যা
আটটি রূপ আগে মনে রাখুন: I থেকে myself, you (একজন) থেকে yourself, he থেকে himself, she থেকে herself, it থেকে itself, we থেকে ourselves, you (একাধিক) থেকে yourselves, they থেকে themselves। খেয়াল করুন — একজনকে বললে yourself, একাধিক জনকে বললে yourselves; এই দুটো আলাদা। hisself বা theirselves বলে ইংরেজিতে কোনো শব্দ নেই। এবার কাজ তিনটি। এক, কাজটা নিজের উপর ফিরে এলে: 'He cut himself while shaving', 'Take care of yourself', 'The cat is cleaning itself'। দুই, জোর দিতে — একে বলে emphatic ব্যবহার, এখানে বাক্যটা reflexive pronoun ছাড়াও ঠিক থাকে, শুধু জোরটা চলে যায়: 'The headmaster himself came to our class' (স্বয়ং প্রধান শিক্ষক এসেছিলেন), 'I painted the room myself' (আমি নিজেই রং করেছি)। তিন, 'by' বসিয়ে একা বা কারো সাহায্য ছাড়া বোঝাতে: 'She went to the hospital by herself', 'He solved the whole paper by himself'। এবার যেখানে বাংলা থেকে ভুলটা আসে। বাংলায় আমরা অনায়াসে বলি 'নিজেকে ক্লান্ত লাগছে', 'নিজেকে পরিচয় করিয়ে দিচ্ছি' — তাই ইংরেজিতেও 'নিজেকে' বসাতে ইচ্ছা করে। কিন্তু feel, relax, concentrate, wash, shave, dress — এসব verb-এর সাথে ইংরেজিতে সাধারণত reflexive বসে না: 'I feel tired' (I feel myself tired নয়), 'Relax', 'He is shaving'। আবার উল্টোটাও আছে — enjoy, help (খাবার নেওয়ার অর্থে), behave — এদের সাথে অন্য কোনো object না থাকলে reflexive-টাই object হয়ে বসে: 'We enjoyed ourselves at the picnic', 'Please help yourself to some more rice'। শেষে সবচেয়ে বড় ভুলটা আবার বলি: reflexive pronoun কখনো subject হয় না। 'Myself Rahim', 'Rahim and myself went' — দুটোই ভুল; হবে 'I am Rahim', 'Rahim and I went'।
Examplesউদাহরণ
- He cut himself while shaving in a hurry.তাড়াহুড়ো করে শেভ করতে গিয়ে সে নিজেকে কেটে ফেলেছে।
- Take care of yourself in this cold weather.এই ঠান্ডায় নিজের যত্ন নিও।
- We enjoyed ourselves at the picnic in Gazipur.গাজীপুরের পিকনিকে আমরা খুব মজা করেছি। (enjoy-এর সাথে object না থাকলে reflexive লাগে)
- The headmaster himself came to our classroom.স্বয়ং প্রধান শিক্ষক আমাদের ক্লাসে এসেছিলেন। (জোর দিতে — বাদ দিলেও বাক্য ঠিক থাকে)
- She travelled to Chattogram by herself.সে একাই চট্টগ্রামে গিয়েছিল। (by + reflexive = একা, কারো সাহায্য ছাড়া)
- Please help yourself to some more rice.নিজে নিয়ে খান, আরেকটু ভাত নিন।
- Children, behave yourselves in front of the guests.বাচ্চারা, মেহমানদের সামনে ভদ্রভাবে থেকো। (একাধিক জনকে বলা হচ্ছে, তাই yourselves)
- I fixed the fan myself, without calling a technician.টেকনিশিয়ান না ডেকে ফ্যানটা আমি নিজেই ঠিক করেছি।
Common Mistakesসাধারণ ভুল
Myself Rahim, I am from Barishal.
I am Rahim, and I am from Barishal.
A reflexive pronoun can never be the subject of a sentence. This opening is common in introductions here, but in English it has no grammar behind it — begin with 'I am' or 'My name is'.
I feel myself very tired today.
I feel very tired today.
Bangla নিজেকে ক্লান্ত লাগছে includes নিজেকে, so learners translate it. In English, 'feel' followed by an adjective takes no reflexive pronoun.
He hurt hisself while playing.
He hurt himself while playing.
There is no word 'hisself' in English, and no 'theirselves' either. The forms are himself and themselves.
We enjoyed a lot in the programme.
We enjoyed ourselves a lot at the programme.
'Enjoy' must be followed by something. When there is no other object, English supplies the reflexive: enjoy yourself, enjoy ourselves.
Karim and myself went to the fair.
Karim and I went to the fair.
'Myself' is used here because it sounds more polite, but the subject of the verb must be 'I'. Remove the other name and the mistake is obvious: 'Myself went to the fair.'
Tipsটিপস
- Test the subject by removing the other person: 'Myself went' is clearly wrong, so 'Karim and myself went' is wrong too. — অন্য নামটা সরিয়ে পরীক্ষা করুন: 'Myself went' স্পষ্ট ভুল, তাই 'Karim and myself went'-ও ভুল।
- One person takes yourself; two or more take yourselves. Nothing else in English changes for this difference. — একজন হলে yourself, দুই বা তার বেশি হলে yourselves। ইংরেজিতে এই পার্থক্যটা আর কোথাও দেখা যায় না।
- 'By myself' means alone or without help — it is not the same as 'myself', which adds emphasis. — 'By myself' মানে একা বা কারো সাহায্য ছাড়া — শুধু 'myself' মানে জোর দেওয়া; দুটো এক নয়।
- Wash, shave, dress, relax and concentrate need no reflexive pronoun in English, even though Bangla uses নিজে or নিজেকে with them. — wash, shave, dress, relax, concentrate — এদের সাথে ইংরেজিতে reflexive লাগে না, যদিও বাংলায় 'নিজে/নিজেকে' বসে।
Quizকুইজ
Tap an answer to check yourself — a free preview of the full graded quiz in the app.
1. Choose the correct introduction.
2. Fill in: The children made the poster ___.
3. Which sentence is correct?
4. Fill in: Did you all enjoy ___ at the wedding?
5. What does 'She did the work by herself' mean?
Practiceঅনুশীলন
Try each one, then reveal the answer.
1. Fix the sentence: 'Myself Sumaiya, I am a student of class nine.'
Hint: A reflexive pronoun cannot start a sentence as its subject.
2. Fill in: He built the shelf ___ , without any help.
Hint: One person, male, emphasis.
3. Fix the sentence: 'They introduced themself to the teacher.'
Hint: The plural form ends in -selves.
4. Fix the sentence: 'We enjoyed very much in the trip.'
Hint: 'Enjoy' needs an object.
Related Lessonsসম্পর্কিত পাঠ
- Pronouns in EnglishPronouns in Bangla and English: subject, object, possessive and reflexive pronouns with a clear chart, examples, common mistakes and a free quiz for learners.
- Subject and Object PronounsSubject and object pronouns in Bangla and English: I vs me, he vs him, they vs them, with a clear table, examples, common mistakes and a free quiz.
- Possessive Adjectives and PronounsLearn possessive adjectives and pronouns in Bangla and English: my/mine, your/yours, his, her/hers, our/ours, their/theirs, with examples and a free quiz.
Frequently Asked Questionsসাধারণ জিজ্ঞাসা
Why is 'Myself Rahim' wrong?
Because a reflexive pronoun cannot be the subject of a sentence — it only comes after a verb or a preposition, or next to a noun for emphasis. Introduce yourself with 'I am Rahim' or 'My name is Rahim'.
What is the difference between yourself and yourselves?
'Yourself' is for one person and 'yourselves' is for two or more. English uses the same word 'you' for both, so the reflexive form is the only place the difference shows.
When do I use 'by myself'?
When you mean alone or without help: 'I went to the doctor by myself.' Without 'by', the pronoun only adds emphasis: 'I went to the doctor myself' stresses that it was you and nobody else who went.
Do I say 'I wash myself every morning'?
Not normally. English says 'I wash', 'I shave' and 'I get dressed' without a reflexive pronoun. Adding 'myself' is only natural when there is a real contrast, such as washing yourself rather than the car.