Reflexive Pronouns Worksheet with five fill-in-the-blank exercises.

Let's solve each question in the Reflexive Pronouns Worksheet step by step and explain the correct answers.

---

What are Reflexive Pronouns?

Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the sentence. They are used when the subject and object of a sentence are the same person or thing. Common reflexive pronouns include:
- myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves

They are typically used after verbs like *enjoy*, *help*, *call*, *look after*, etc., when the action is done by the subject to themselves.

---

Question 1:

Ben always wanted his children to look after ____ and do what they wanted.

Options:
(a) themselves
(b) ourselves
(c) herself

✔ Correct answer: (a) themselves

Explanation:
The subject is "his children" (plural), so we need a plural reflexive pronoun. "Themselves" refers back to "children."
"Ourselves" would mean "we," which doesn't fit. "Herself" is singular and female, not matching "children."

✔️ Sentence: *"Ben always wanted his children to look after themselves..."*

---

Question 2:

Once there was a young girl who called ____ Princess.

Options:
(a) myself
(b) himself
(c) herself

✔ Correct answer: (c) herself

Explanation:
The subject is "a young girl" — feminine and singular. So, the reflexive pronoun must be "herself."
"myself" is for "I," and "himself" is for male subjects.

✔️ Sentence: *"...who called herself Princess."*

---

Question 3:

Unfortunately My cat went too near the lamp and the fur in his tail got fired ____ and he run and jump into the water.

(Note: There's a grammatical error in the sentence — "he run and jump" should be "ran and jumped", but that’s not part of the question.)

Options:
(a) itself
(b) yourselves
(c) themselves

✔ Correct answer: (a) itself

Explanation:
The subject here is "the fur in his tail" — this is part of the cat, but it's being described as something that affected itself. The reflexive pronoun must agree with "fur" (singular), so "itself" is correct.
"Yourselves" and "themselves" are plural and don’t match.

✔️ Sentence: *"...the fur in his tail got fired itself..."*
(Though "got fired" is awkward; better phrasing might be "caught fire" or "ignited.")

---

Question 4:

May shocked her father with an idea that she was going to try out on ____.

Options:
(a) himself
(b) themselves
(c) herself

✔ Correct answer: (c) herself

Explanation:
The subject is "she" (May), so the reflexive pronoun must be "herself."
"Try out on herself" means she is testing something on herself.

✔️ Sentence: *"...she was going to try out on herself."*

Note: This phrasing is a bit awkward. A more natural version would be:
*"May shocked her father with the idea that she was going to try it out on herself."*

But based on the options, "herself" is still correct.

---

Question 5:

Ann had watched birds fly by throwing ____ into the air.

Options:
(a) yourselves
(b) themselves
(c) ourselves

✔ Correct answer: (b) themselves

Explanation:
The subject is "birds" (plural). The birds are doing the action of flying, and the sentence says they were thrown "into the air" — likely meaning Ann threw things (maybe bird-shaped toys?) or perhaps it's metaphorical.

Wait — let's analyze carefully.

The sentence: *"Ann had watched birds fly by throwing ____ into the air."*

This implies that Ann threw something (possibly objects representing birds) into the air, and then watched them fly.

But the reflexive pronoun must refer to the subject of the verb "throwing." The subject is "Ann" — but she isn't the one being thrown.

So why is "themselves" correct?

Actually, this sentence is ambiguous or poorly worded.

Let’s re-read:
"Ann had watched birds fly by throwing ____ into the air."

It could mean:
- Ann threw birds (as in real birds) into the air → but that's cruel and unlikely.
- Or, Ann threw something (like paper birds) into the air — but then the pronoun doesn’t make sense.

Alternatively, if the sentence meant:
"Ann had watched birds fly by throwing them into the air" — that would make sense.

But since we're choosing from reflexive pronouns:

- "yourselves" → you
- "ourselves" → we
- "themselves" → they

If the birds are doing something to themselves, but the sentence says Ann is throwing something...

Wait — maybe the intended meaning is:
"Ann had watched birds fly by throwing themselves into the air" — but that makes no sense because Ann didn’t throw the birds.

So, there’s likely a typo or misphrasing in the original sentence.

However, given the options, and assuming the sentence is trying to say that Ann threw bird-like things or models, and those models are referred to as "they", then the reflexive pronoun would be "themselves".

But that still doesn’t work unless the birds are acting reflexively.

Alternatively, maybe it's a metaphor: "Ann had watched birds fly by throwing themselves into the air" — but again, “by throwing” suggests Ann did it.

So the most plausible explanation is that the sentence has an error, but among the choices, "themselves" is the only one that fits the plural noun "birds" if we assume the birds are doing something to themselves.

But that contradicts “throwing.”

Wait — perhaps the intended meaning is:
"Ann had watched birds fly by throwing themselves into the air" — meaning the birds flew up into the air by their own effort.

But then "throwing" should be replaced with "flying" or "launching."

Given all that, "themselves" is the only option that matches the plural "birds" and makes some logical sense if we interpret it as the birds launching themselves.

So despite the awkwardness, (b) themselves is the best choice.

✔ Answer: (b) themselves

---

✔ Final Answers:

1. (a) themselves
2. (c) herself
3. (a) itself
4. (c) herself
5. (b) themselves

---

Summary:

| Question | Correct Answer | Reason |
|--------|----------------|--------|
| 1 | themselves | Plural reflexive for "children" |
| 2 | herself | Feminine singular for "girl" |
| 3 | itself | Singular reflexive for "fur" (part of cat) |
| 4 | herself | Refers to "she" (May) |
| 5 | themselves | Plural reflexive for "birds" (despite awkward phrasing) |

Let me know if you'd like a corrected version of the worksheet!