125. The three compound personal pronouns are made by adding the word self to certain forms of the personal pronouns. Thus,—
- myself, plural ourselves;
- thyself or yourself, plural yourselves;
- himself, herself, itself, plural themselves.
To these may be added the indefinite oneself, more commonly written as two words, one’s self ([§ 139]).
Observe that yourself is singular, and yourselves plural. Hisself and theirselves are incorrect forms. Ourself (not ourselves) is the compound pronoun corresponding to the royal we ([§ 118]).
What touches us ourself shall be last served.—Shakspere.
126. 1. The compound personal pronouns may be used to emphasize substantives.
In this use they are called intensive pronouns.
- I myself will go.
- King Alfred himself took the field.
- They did the work themselves.
An intensive pronoun is in apposition with the substantive to which it refers.
2. The compound personal pronouns may be used as the objects of transitive verbs or of prepositions when the object denotes the same person or thing as the subject.