Word forms: plural yourselveslanguage note: Yourself is the second person reflexive pronoun.
1. pronoun
A speaker or writer uses yourself to refer to the person that they are talking or writing to. Yourself is used when the object of a verb or preposition refers to the same person as the subject of the verb.
Have the courage to be honest with yourself and about yourself.
Your baby depends on you to look after yourself properly while you are pregnant.
Treat yourselves to a massage to help you relax at the end of the day.
2. pronoun
You use yourself to emphasize the person that you are referring to.
[emphasis]
They mean to share the business between them, after you yourself are gone, Sir.
I've been wondering if you yourselves have any idea why she came.
3. pronoun
You use yourself instead of 'you' for emphasis or in order to be more polite when 'you' is the object of a verb or preposition.
[politeness]
A wealthy man like yourself is bound to make an enemy or two along the way.
I wouldn't want to cause such important people as yourselves any bother.
4. by yourself
English Easy Learning GrammarReflexive pronounsReflexive pronouns are used: person singular plural 1st2nd3rd masculine3rd feminine3rd neuterGeneral myselfyourselfhimselfherselfitselfoneselfourselvesyourselvesthemselvesthemselvesthemselves ... Read more
with the meaning “your real, true, or actual self” [you are not yourself when you're screaming at us] ( in this construction your functions as an adjective and self as a noun, and they may be separated
your own sweet self
2.
oneself
it is best to do it yourself
▶ USAGE: Now sometimes used as a subject or a nonreflexive object in certain contexts [only Smith and yourself are left]
Examples of 'yourself' in a sentence
yourself
What can you do to help yourself if you run into trouble?
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
You totally give yourself over to the other and stop being a solo fish.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The way you conducted yourself did cause actual and real distress.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You have to ask yourself what you need to improve to be selected.
The Sun (2016)
And you better really brace yourselves for this one.
The Sun (2016)
Another issue with selling your overseas home yourself is whether you have the time to manage the viewings and negotiations.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I cannot stress enough how important it is to arm yourself with your rights on funding.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The only option when you hurt yourself early is to keep going, otherwise you stuff the team a bit.
The Sun (2016)
Yet when the researchers asked,'Do you consider yourself a helpful person?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You will be enjoying yourself and hiring public servants at the same time.
The Sun (2015)
You will be learning to help yourself.
Munro, Bill Dr. & Munro, Frances Beat Stress (1992)
Turn it to your advantage and use it to give yourself extra confidence.
The Sun (2013)
You should be wary of exposing yourself to more hurt until he does.
The Sun (2014)
You are the only person that finds yourself remotely interesting.
The Sun (2014)
Treat yourself to the best wedges on the high street.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
You can yourself ask questions on behalf of the group and then answer them.
O'Connor, Joseph & Seymour, John Training with N.L.P. (1994)
Then brace yourself for a sugar rush like no other.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
You will not be sorry to find yourself at home.
Jane Austen Emma (1815)
You must prove to yourself that you really do matter.
Lindenfield, Gael 50 Ways to Become a Self-Confident Woman (1989)
Sometimes enjoying yourself takes a bit of work.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Just go gently on yourself and the right time will occur naturally.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
You helped yourself as it went round.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Give yourself time to take stock and evolve your survival plan.
Steel, Elizabeth Coping With Sudden Hair Loss (1988)
You just risk hurting yourself and the patient.
The Sun (2009)
Think of yourself as the person you are in a relationship with.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Treat yourself to a great value two night offer with dinner on the first night.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
In other languages
yourself
British English: yourself /jɔːˈsɛlf; jʊə-/ PRONOUN
Yourself means you alone.
You'll hurt yourself.
American English: yourself
Arabic: نَفْسُك
Brazilian Portuguese: você mesmo
Chinese: 您自己
Croatian: sebe
Czech: sám ty nebo vy sám
Danish: dig selv
Dutch: jezelf
European Spanish: te
Finnish: sinä itse
French: toi-même
German: du selbst
Greek: εσύ ο ίδιος
Italian: te stesso
Japanese: あなた自身
Korean: 당신 자신
Norwegian: deg selv
Polish: siebie
European Portuguese: você mesmo
Romanian: însuți
Russian: себя
Latin American Spanish: usted mismo
Swedish: du själv
Thai: ตัวคุณเอง
Turkish: kendini
Ukrainian: себе
Vietnamese: chính bạn
All related terms of 'yourself'
by yourself
If you are by yourself , you are alone .
please oneself
You say ' please yourself ' to indicate in a rather rude way that you do not mind or care whether the person you are talking to does a particular thing or not.
do-it-yourself
Do-it-yourself is the same as → DIY .
let oneself go
If you let yourself go , you relax and behave much more freely than usual .
not be yourself
If you say that you are not yourself , you mean you are not feeling well .
speak for yourself
If you say ' Speak for yourself ' when someone has said something, you mean that what they have said is only their opinion or applies only to them.
sell oneself short to sell someone short
If you sell someone short , you do not point out their good qualities as much as you should or do as much for them as you should.
a law unto yourself
If you say that someone is a law unto himself or herself, you mean that they behave in an independent way, ignoring laws, rules, or conventional ways of doing things.
be full of oneself
If you say to someone 'you're full of yourself', you disapprove of them because they appear very pleased with themselves, thinking that they are very clever , special, or important.
kill yourself laughing
If you say that you killed yourself laughing , you are emphasizing that you laughed a lot because you thought something was extremely funny .
make yourself at home
If you say to a guest ' Make yourself at home ', you are making them feel welcome and inviting them to behave in an informal , relaxed way .
tie yourself in knots
to make yourself confused or anxious , and so you are not able to think clearly about things
to keep to yourself
If you keep to yourself , you stay on your own most of the time and do not mix socially with other people.
be a law unto yourself
to behave in an independent way, ignoring laws, rules , or conventional ways of doing things
do-it-yourself enthusiast
an enthusiast of the hobby or process of constructing and repairing things by yourself
get a grip on yourself
to control yourself, so that you can deal with things successfully
leave yourself wide open
if you leave yourself wide open to criticism or ridicule , you make it very easy for other people to criticize or ridicule you, because you behave in a naive or foolish way
make a fool of yourself
If you make a fool of yourself, you behave in a way that makes other people think that you are silly or lacking in good judgment .
make a pig of oneself
If you say that someone is making a pig of themselves , you are criticizing them for eating a very large amount at one meal .
spread yourself too thin
to try to do a lot of different things at the same time, with the result that you cannot do any of them properly
to keep sth to yourself
If you keep something to yourself , you do not tell anyone else about it.
to keep (yourself) to yourself
If you keep yourself to yourself or keep to yourself , you stay on your own most of the time and do not mix socially with other people.
drink yourself into a stupor
If you drink yourself into a stupor or drink yourself into oblivion , you drink so much alcohol that you lose consciousness or fall deeply asleep .
make a name for yourself
to become famous or well-known as a result of doing a particular thing
paint yourself into a corner
to find yourself in a difficult situation where you have to act in a certain way
shoot oneself in the foot
to do or say something stupid which causes problems for you or harms your chances of success
to tie yourself in knots
If you tie yourself in knots , you get very confused and anxious .
wear yourself to a frazzle
to feel mentally and physically exhausted because you have been working too hard or because you have been constantly worrying about something
wrap yourself in the flag
to try to do something for your own advantage while pretending to do it for the good of your country
you can't hear yourself think
If you say that you can't hear yourself think , you are complaining and emphasizing that there is a lot of noise , and that it is disturbing you or preventing you from doing something.
put yourself in someone's shoes
to make an effort to imagine how you would feel or act if you were in the same situation as a particular person
throw yourself on someone's mercy
If you throw yourself on someone's mercy , you put yourself in a situation where they will have complete power to decide how to treat you, for example whether to punish or forgive you.
to fall over yourself to do
If you say that people are falling over themselves to do something, you mean that they are very enthusiastic about doing it, and often that you disapprove of this.
to shoot yourself in the foot
If you shoot yourself in the foot , something you say or do causes you harm .
to take you out of yourself
If something takes you out of yourself, it makes you feel better and so you forget all your worries and unhappiness.
pull yourself up by your bootstraps
to improve your situation by your own efforts , without help from anyone else
make something of yourself/your life
If someone makes something of themselves or makes something of their life , they become successful .
to price yourself out of the market
If you price yourself out of the market , you try to sell goods or services at a higher price than other people, with the result that no one buys them from you.
wear yourself/be worn to a frazzle
If you wear yourself to a frazzle , or if you are worn to a frazzle , you feel mentally and physically exhausted because you have been working too hard or because you have been constantly worrying about something.
be in command/be in command of yourself
If you are in command or in command of yourself , you are relaxed and able to react and behave in the way that you want to.
work yourself up into a lather/get in a lather
If you say that someone works themselves up into a lather or gets in a lather about something, you think that they are getting upset , angry , or worried about it when there is no need to do so.
Chinese translation of 'yourself'
yourself
(jɔːˈsɛlf)
pron
你自己 (nǐ zìjǐ)
⇒ Have you hurt yourself?你伤到自己了吗？ (Nǐ shāng dào zìjǐ le ma?)
⇒ Did you paint the room yourself?你自己粉刷了房间? (Nǐ zìjǐ fěnshuā le fángjiān?)