Basic Details
Word: Himself
Part of Speech: Pronoun
Meaning: Used for a man or boy already mentioned, when he does something to or for himself, or to stress that it was he and nobody else.
How to Spell Himself
Syllables: him - self
Tricky part: It is him + self, written as one word. Students sometimes swap the l and e (himslef) or add a plural ending (himselve).
Watch out for: himslef, himselve, himsef
Memory tip: Say it slowly as two small words, him and self, and write them touching. The f at the end is the f of self.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Aryan cut himself while sharpening his pencil with a blade.
Example 2: The chef himself came out to ask how we liked the dosa.
Example 3: Grandpa built the wooden swing himself, without any help.
Fun Fact
The standard form is himself, built on him; hisself is heard in some dialects, but it is not accepted in standard written English.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The new captain promised himslef that he would train every morning before the inter-school cricket tournament began in December.
a) promised
b) tournament
c) captain
d) himslef
Show answer
d) himslef. The second half is self, s-e-l-f, so the e comes before the l.
Word Makeup
Choose the correctly spelt compound word:
a) somewere
b) himself
c) handkercheif
d) wherabouts
Show answer
b) himself. Himself is him + self; the others should be somewhere, handkerchief and whereabouts.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The old man laughed at fmhleis when he found his glasses on top of his own head.
a) himself
b) myself
c) herself
d) itself
Show answer
a) himself. Look for him and self hidden in fmhleis and join them.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which sentence needs himself in the blank?
a) The girls dried ____ after the swim.
b) Kabir looked at ____ in the shop window.
c) Meena packed ____ a lunch box.
d) I made ____ a cup of tea.
Show answer
b) Kabir looked at ____ in the shop window.
2. Himself is a pronoun of which kind?
a) reflexive
b) relative
c) interrogative
d) possessive
Show answer
a) reflexive
