{"id":1722,"date":"2020-10-30T22:21:48","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T21:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.englishforums.com\/blog\/?p=1722"},"modified":"2020-10-30T22:21:48","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T21:21:48","slug":"themself-or-themselves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/themself-or-themselves\/","title":{"rendered":"Themself or Themselves: When To Use Each"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When to use themself or themselves is one tricky problem in standard English, even for native English speakers. An English dictionary is one way to see an example of when to use the singular word themself or the plural word themselves, but a dictionary is not something a person has available all the time.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>When to use themselves<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First, <\/span><b>themselves<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a reflexive pronoun and is related to the plural forms of the pronouns <\/span><b>them<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and<\/span><b> they<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. We may use the two terms interchangeably, but they are not one and the same in English. A reflexive pronoun refers back to the subject of a sentence and all reflexive pronouns end in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-self<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-selves<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are many examples of how to properly use themselves. For example:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I helped the girls with the word game and told <\/span><\/i><b><i>them<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to play <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">after I left.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They were leaning over the edge and trying to see then movie screen for<\/span><\/i><b><i> themselves.<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The two girls next to her had dirtied <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the surrounding tables and chairs.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They were ready to defend <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, if the bullies decided to attack them at the park during recess.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Children will learn <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with the appropriate guidance..<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They praised <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by praising the school.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pictures from the movie kept replaying <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in her head.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The pilots strapped <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in for the long ride to the space station.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The economies <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will see a rebound once the national emergency is over and countries once again open up for trade and travel.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once they arrived in the countryside they started to feel more like <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When recycling centers run <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the world will be a better place for all of us to live in and enjoy.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The campers found <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> lost in the forest with no hope of rescue until after the long holiday weekend.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The students <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">were surprised to see the results of the exam and the rankings that followed.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The animals <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> figured out how to open the gate and they escaped down the road leading away from the farm.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Politicians <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> sometimes have a difficult time explaining complex policies and ideas to voters.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can understand why people <\/span><\/i><b><i>themselves<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are willing to wait so long for a superior product and customer service experience.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes, in modern English, them or they is used when talking about a person whose gender is not known or who is gender neutral. This can occur if the speaker or writer doesn&#8217;t know the gender of the person, animal or thing that is being discussed.<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your coworker is causing you problems, you should report <\/span><\/i><b><i>them <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to the boss.<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My dog is always running away, but I don&#8217;t know what&#8217;s wrong with <\/span><\/i><b><i>them<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My friend is always borrowing my things and not returning them, so I think I won&#8217;t lend things to <\/span><\/i><b><i>them <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">anymore.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The delivery person is always here so fast I always give <\/span><\/i><b><i>them <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an extra tip.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h2><b>Is themself a word?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The singular pronoun themself has become a common word to make the plural pronouns them and they sound singular. For example, see how themself is used in the following sentences.<\/span><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A person should help <\/span><\/i><b><i>themself<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> before helping others.<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The adults began crying at <\/span><\/i><b><i>themself<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everyone who guessed the correct word can congratulate <\/span><\/i><b><i>themself.<\/i><\/b><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The performer introduced <\/span><\/i><b><i>themself<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the audience.<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The kids who know how to swim can dive in <\/span><\/i><b><i>themself.<\/i><\/b><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anyone can do it <\/span><\/i><b><i>themself<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with the right tools.<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One must understand <\/span><\/i><b><i>themself<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> before understanding others.<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, if you wrote the above sentence the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.englishforums.com\/blog\/8-most-common-grammar-mistakes-new-writers-make\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> grammar would be incorrect<\/a> because it is singular and should be plural. Written, the sentence should say the pronoun form <\/span><b>themselves <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rather than the reflexive singular pronoun form themself.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other English forms like themself, themselve, theirselves, theirself, and other third person pronouns are sometimes acceptable in English depending on how they are used and who the someone is.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Some clarifications on related questions<\/b><\/h2>\n<h4><b>Is his or herself correct?<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both his or her and himself or herself are correct. However, himself and herself are considered more formal.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Is anyone singular or plural?<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anyone is always singular. For example, you would say, &#8220;Is this anyone&#8217;s car?&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Can you say they themselves?<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is acceptable to say <\/span><b>they themselves<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but it is considered wordy and lacks<a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/concision\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> concision<\/a> and can be shortened to just <\/span><b>they<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When to use themself or themselves is one tricky problem in standard English, even for native English speakers. An English dictionary is one way to &#8230; <a title=\"Themself or Themselves: When To Use Each\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/themself-or-themselves\/\" aria-label=\"More on Themself or Themselves: When To Use Each\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1799,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_generate-full-width-content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[292],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1722"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}