REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS.
38. A pronoun which refers to the same person or thing as the subject of the verb in the sentence, but is used in some other relation than subject of that verb, is said to be used reflexively, or to be a reflexive pronoun.
39. The first and second personal pronouns, mi, ni, and vi, (ci) are used for the reflexive pronouns of the first and second persons. There can be no ambiguity, since words such as "me, myself, us, ourselves," can refer to no one else than the person or persons speaking; while words such as "you, yourself, yourselves (thee, thyself)," can refer to no one else than the person or persons addressed:
Mi vidas min, I see myself.
Mi diris al mi, I said to myself.
Ni havas tapiŝon sub ni, we have a carpet under us.
Ni amuzis nin, we amused ourselves.
(Ci trovas domon apud ci, thou findest a house near thee.)
Vi diras al vi, you say to yourself (yourselves).
Vi amuzas vin, you amuse yourself (yourselves).
40. When the verb is in the third person, a pronoun of the third person, used otherwise than as the subject, might or might not refer to the subject of that verb. For example, "He sees a bird near him," may mean that the subject sees a bird near himself, or near another person. If such a pronoun of the third person is intended to refer to the subject of the verb, Esperanto uses a special reflexive pronoun si (accusative sin), which means him(self), her(self), it(self), them(selves), according to the gender and number of the verb:
Li amuzas sin, he amuses himself.
Arturo vidis birdon apud si, Arthur saw a bird near him(self).
Ŝi trovas floron apud si, she finds a flower near her(self).
Mario trovis sin sur blua tapiŝo, Mary found herself on a blue carpet.
La tapiŝo havas diversajn kolorojn en si, the carpet has various colors in it(self).
La birdo kaŝas sin sub la folioj, the bird hides itself under the leaves.
Ili amuzas sin, they amuse themselves.
La viroj havas seĝojn apud si, the men have chairs near them(selves).
La virinoj trovas florojn apud si, the women find flowers near them(selves).
La arboj havas ĉerizojn sur si, the trees have cherries on them(selves).
Sub si la infanoj trovis molan tapiŝon, under them(selves) the children found a soft carpet.
From the very fact that si always refers to the subject of the verb, it is evident that si can never itself be used as subject or part of the subject of the verb.
REFLEXIVE VERBS.
41. A verb having a reflexive pronoun for its direct object is sometimes called a reflexive verb, from the fact that some languages have had or still have a special reflexive or middle form of the verb, to express an act of the subject on or for itself, or they have certain verbs whose use is chiefly or exclusively reflexive. The conjugation of a verb reflexively is therefore as follows:
mi amuzas min (mi min amuzas), I amuse myself.
vi amuzas vin (vi vin amuzas), you amuse yourself.
li (ŝi, ĝi) amuzas sin (sin amuzas), he (she, it) amuses him (her, it)self.
ni amuzas nin (ni nin amuzas), we amuse ourselves.
vi amuzas vin (vi vin amuzas), you amuse yourselves.
ili amuzas sin (ili sin amuzas), they amuse themselves.