Intensive Pronouns Worksheet - Free Printable

You’re working on an Intensive Pronouns worksheet. Let’s break down what intensive pronouns are and then solve the matching and sentence completion sections step by step.

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## ✔ What Are Intensive Pronouns?

Intensive pronouns are reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves) used to emphasize the subject of the sentence — they add stress or importance to the noun/pronoun they refer to. They are not essential to the meaning of the sentence; if you remove them, the sentence still makes sense.

> Example:
> “I myself baked the cake.” → Emphasizes that *I* did it, not someone else.
> Without “myself”: “I baked the cake.” → Still grammatically correct.

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## 🧩 Part 1: Match Each Intensive Pronoun to Its Antecedent

You need to match the intensive pronoun with the noun/pronoun it refers to (its antecedent).

Let’s go one by one:

1) ___ myself → a. the continent

- “Myself” refers to “I” → none of the options is “I”, but let’s check others first.

Wait — look at the options:
a. the continent
b. the queen
c. we
d. the doctor
e. I
f. Jonathan
g. you

✔ So for “myself” → antecedent is e. I

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2) ___ yourself → g. you

✔ “Yourself” refers to “you”

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3) ___ himself → d. the doctor

→ “Himself” refers to a male singular person. “The doctor” could be male. Also possible is f. Jonathan (male name). But since “the doctor” is listed as option d, and Jonathan is f — both could work, but typically worksheets pair names with reflexives.

Wait — let’s see which ones are left.

Actually, let’s assign logically:

- “himself” → male singular → f. Jonathan (name) or d. the doctor (could be male)

But “Jonathan” is a specific person — better match.

Similarly:

4) ___ herself → b. the queen

✔ “Herself” = female singular → “the queen” fits perfectly.

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5) ___ itself → a. the continent

✔ “Itself” = non-human singular → “the continent” is inanimate → perfect match.

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6) ___ ourselves → c. we

✔ “Ourselves” = plural first person → matches “we”

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7) ___ themselves → ?

Leftover: d. the doctor? But “themselves” is plural — doesn’t match singular “doctor”.

Wait — we have 7 pronouns and 7 options. Let’s list all matches again:

| Pronoun | Antecedent |
|-------------|------------------|
| 1. myself | e. I |
| 2. yourself | g. you |
| 3. himself | f. Jonathan |
| 4. herself | b. the queen |
| 5. itself | a. the continent |
| 6. ourselves| c. we |
| 7. themselves| d. the doctor ← ✘ Problem!

“Themselves” is plural — “the doctor” is singular.

This suggests either:
- A typo in the worksheet, OR
- “The doctor” is meant to be plural? Unlikely.

Alternatively — maybe “the doctor” is intended for “himself” and “themselves” goes with… wait, no other plural option.

Actually — perhaps “the doctor” is being used generically, but “themselves” is plural.

Let me re-check the options:

Options:
a. the continent
b. the queen
c. we
d. the doctor
e. I
f. Jonathan
g. you

Only c. we is plural — already matched to “ourselves”.

So “themselves” must match a plural subject — but there is no plural subject left except possibly “we”, which is taken.

Wait — perhaps “the doctor” is a mistake, and it should be “the doctors”? Or maybe the worksheet intends for “themselves” to refer to a group including “the doctor” — but that’s forced.

Alternatively — maybe “themselves” can refer to “the doctor” if gender-neutral, but traditionally “himself/herself” is used.

In modern usage, “themselves” can be used for singular they, but that’s not typical in elementary grammar worksheets.

➡️ Best solution: Assume “themselves” matches “the doctor” only if the worksheet allows it — but it’s technically incorrect.

Wait — let’s look again. Maybe I misassigned.

What if:

- 3) himself → d. the doctor
- 7) themselves → ??? Still no plural.

Unless... perhaps “the queen” is plural? No.

Another possibility: Maybe “we” is for “themselves”? No — “we” → “ourselves”.

This is likely a small error in the worksheet.

But to complete it as intended:

✔ Standard Answer Key (based on common practice):

1. myself → e. I
2. yourself → g. you
3. himself → d. the doctor *(assuming male)*
4. herself → b. the queen
5. itself → a. the continent
6. ourselves → c. we
7. themselves → f. Jonathan? ✘ No — Jonathan is singular.

Wait — perhaps “themselves” is meant for “we”? No, that’s “ourselves”.

I think the only logical fix is that “themselves” should match a plural subject, and since none is left, perhaps option d. the doctor is a typo and should be “the doctors”.

But since we must choose from given options, and “Jonathan” is singular, and “the doctor” is singular, the best fit for “themselves” is... actually none.

However, in many worksheets, they might expect:

> 7. themselves → d. the doctor *(even though grammatically odd)*

OR

Perhaps “the doctor” is meant for “himself”, and “themselves” is for “we” — but that’s wrong.

Let me check online or standard keys...

Actually, looking at the structure, perhaps the worksheet has a mistake.

But for educational purposes, here’s the most reasonable matching:

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✔ Final Matching Answers:

1. myself → e. I
2. yourself → g. you
3. himself → f. Jonathan *(specific male name)*
4. herself → b. the queen
5. itself → a. the continent
6. ourselves → c. we
7. themselves → d. the doctor ← *technically incorrect, but only option left*

> ⚠️ Note: In real grammar, “themselves” should refer to a plural subject like “they” or “we” — but “we” is already used. So this may be an error in the worksheet.

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## ✍️ Part 2: Insert an Intensive Pronoun into Each Sentence to Emphasize the Antecedent

You need to add an intensive pronoun to emphasize the subject.

8) The Mayor is coming to speak to our class.

→ Who is coming? The Mayor — emphasize the Mayor.

Add: The Mayor himself is coming...
*(if Mayor is male)*
Or The Mayor herself... if female — but since not specified, use “himself” as default.

✔ Answer: The Mayor himself is coming to speak to our class.

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9) Even the scientists can’t explain it.

→ Emphasize “the scientists” → use themselves

✔ Answer: Even the scientists themselves can’t explain it.

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10) We noticed that you are acting suspicious.

→ Emphasize “you” → use yourself

✔ Answer: We noticed that you yourself are acting suspicious.

> Note: “suspicious” should probably be “suspiciously” (adverb), but that’s a separate issue.

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## 📝 Final Answers:

Part 1: Matching

1. e
2. g
3. f
4. b
5. a
6. c
7. d *(with note: grammatically weak, but only option)*

Part 2: Sentence Completion

8. The Mayor himself is coming to speak to our class.
9. Even the scientists themselves can’t explain it.
10. We noticed that you yourself are acting suspicious.

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## 💡 Teaching Tip:

Emphasize that intensive pronouns are optional — they add emphasis but aren’t needed for the sentence to make sense. You can test this by removing them and seeing if the sentence still works.

Example:
- “I myself made dinner.” → Remove “myself” → “I made dinner.” → Still fine.

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Let me know if you’d like a printable version or explanation for students!