ENGLISH
REFERENCE

themselves

pron.
A2 Elementary Oxford US //ðəmˈsɛɫvz// UK //ðɛmsˈɛlvz// them·selves General-service

pron. the word you use to refer back to a group of people or things that were already mentioned as the subject. It is also used to talk about a single person when you do not know or do not want to say if they are male or female.

pron. the reflexive form of 'they', used as the object of a verb or preposition when the subject and object are identical. Also functions as an emphatic pronoun or a gender-neutral singular reflexive.


SIMPLE

They taught themselves how to play the guitar.

CONTEXTUAL

The children were old enough to look after themselves while their parents went to the grocery store.

COMPLEX

In modern English, it is increasingly common for a speaker to refer to an individual as 'themselves' to maintain gender neutrality or respect the subject's non-binary identity.

Origin

Morphologically them + -selves.

Usage

Functions as a reflexive pronoun or an intensive pronoun; increasingly used as a singular reflexive for gender-neutrality.

Pitfall

They did it by theirselves.They did it by themselves.Learners often mistakenly use the possessive 'their' instead of the objective 'them' to form this reflexive pronoun.

© 2026 English Reference