Reflexive vs Non-Reflexive Verbs - Easy
A2 Level
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English normally says He shaves, The children dressed, She felt tired, We relaxed, and They got dressed without a reflexive pronoun. However, verbs such as enjoy, hurt, cut, and teach need a reflexive in this route when the subject and object are the same. The sentence set includes both types, so you can stop translating from another language and build the English pattern directly. The options may show a dash or a plain verb form, but the final answer should sound like normal English. That contrast is the main skill being tested here.
Quick Rule
use a reflexive only when English needs the action to return to the subject
- 1.She enjoyed herself at the birthday party.
- 2.He shaves every morning before work.
- 3.Do not cut yourself with that knife.
- 4.The children dressed quickly and went to school.
- 5.I taught myself to play the piano.
All 20 questions
Complete each sentence with the correct reflexive pronoun OR type '-' if no reflexive is needed. Think: does the subject do the action to himself/herself?
She enjoyed _____ at the birthday party. (herself / -)
He _____ every morning before work. (shaves himself / shaves)
Be careful with that knife! Don't cut _____. (yourself / -)
The children _____ quickly and went to school. (dressed themselves / dressed)
I taught _____ to play the piano. (myself / -)
She _____ tired after the long walk. (felt herself / felt)
Help _____ to some cake — there's plenty! (yourself / -)
We _____ after a long day at work. (relaxed ourselves / relaxed)
He hurt _____ while playing football. (himself / -)
The baby can _____ now without any help. (wash itself / wash)
We really enjoyed _____ on holiday last summer. (ourselves / -)
Please _____ — the meeting will start soon. (sit down yourselves / sit down)
She introduced _____ to the new neighbours. (herself / -)
I _____ at six o'clock every morning. (wake up myself / wake up)
The children behaved _____ very well at the restaurant. (themselves / -)
He _____ on the problem for hours. (concentrated himself / concentrated)
I accidentally burned _____ on the hot pan. (myself / -)
She _____ for being late to the meeting. (apologised herself / apologised)
Did you enjoy _____ at the concert last night? (yourself / -)
They _____ quickly and left the house. (got dressed themselves / got dressed)
Continue Practising
Continue practising with these related exercises
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