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Be brave and try: reflexive pronouns and each other

A2 students learn reflexive pronouns from myself to themselves, and each other, in this ESL lesson plan about the first Special Olympics Games.

Grammar
The -self forms for the doer as object (I hurt myself.) and for no help (Try it yourself!), by herself for alone, enjoy yourself, and each other for actions that go both ways.
Topic
The first Special Olympics Games, at Soldier Field in Chicago in July 1968, with words of encouragement and key words such as cheer, hug and high five.
Activities
A history notice to read, a team practice dialogue and a voice message to hear, self-checking drills, a chat with Nora and open-box questions.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Ready, set, go!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: be brave and tryVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: Chicago, 1968

    • Look at the photo: Soldier FieldPictureUnlock
    • Read the history noticeReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: be brave and try!

    • Listen to Nora and CalvinListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to Grandpa's ChallengeListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: myself, each other

    • Study the scheme: myself, yourself, each otherGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: -self, -selves or each otherFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: every personFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: cheer for each other!

    • Choose the right replies: be brave and tryChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: be brave!Open the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: -self, -selves or each otherFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Fill in the table: say it with each otherFill in the tableUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Nora's thank-you postDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Marco's message to GrandpaChoose the optionUnlock

30 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • high five
  • long jump
  • finish line
  • oath
  • stranger
  • relish
  • polar plunge

Grammar: reflexive pronouns and each other

Reflexive pronouns, from myself to themselves, point back to the subject: She taught herself. At a sports practice where athletes cheer for one another, learners match each person to its -self or -selves form, use it for doing things alone or with no help, and set it against each other.

She taught herself. They helped each other.

-self / -selves: the doer and the other person are the same. each other: A does it to B, and B does it to A.

Myself to themselves: every person

Each person has its own form: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. One person takes -self; two or more take -selves. Himself and themselves start from him and them, so hisself and theirselves are wrong.

Every person

Who-self / -selvesExample
ImyselfI taught myself to swim.
you (one person)yourselfBelieve in yourself, Nora!
hehimselfJamal taught himself the long jump.
sheherselfNora was proud of herself.
ititselfThe door opened by itself.
weourselvesWe enjoyed ourselves in Chicago.
you (two or more)yourselvesKids, enjoy yourselves!
theythemselvesThe kids made dinner themselves.

my, your, our… but him, them

myself, yourself and ourselves come from my, your, our. himself and themselves come from him and them: no hisself, no theirselves! One person: -self. Two or more: -selves (we → ourselves, not ourself).

When to use -self

Use it when the doer and the object are the same (I hurt myself.), for no help (We made the posters ourselves.) and after by for alone (Grandma lives by herself.). In a sentence, enjoy needs a word after it: I enjoyed myself, not just I enjoyed.

When do we use -self?

  • The doer and the other person are the same: I hurt myself. She taught herself to swim.
  • With no help, not another person: Try it yourself! We made the posters ourselves.
  • by + -self = alone: Grandma lives by herself. The door opened by itself.
  • Little phrases: enjoy yourself (= have a good time), believe in yourself, be proud of yourself

enjoy + -self

enjoy needs a word after it. Say: I enjoyed myself. / I enjoyed the game. (Not: I enjoyed.) Enjoy yourself! = Have a good time!

Themselves or each other?

Themselves sends the action back to each person: They looked at themselves in the water. Each other goes from A to B and back: The two runners looked at each other. It never takes an -s: They hugged each other, not each others.

-selves or each other?

themselves: A → A, B → B

  • Tia and Jamal looked at themselves in the water. (Tia looked at Tia. Jamal looked at Jamal.)

each other: A → B, B → A

  • Tia and Jamal looked at each other. (Tia looked at Jamal. Jamal looked at Tia.)
  • They cheer for each other, help each other and hug each other.

At the practice in Chicago

  • The athletes cheer for each other.
  • Tia and Jamal gave each other a high five.
  • Calvin: “Try it yourself, Nora!”
  • Nora: “I'm so proud of myself!”
  • We really enjoyed ourselves!

Common mistakes

  • He taught hisself. They enjoyed theirselves.

    He taught himself. They enjoyed themselves.

    him + self, them + selves

  • We did it ourself.

    We did it ourselves.

    we = two or more: -selves

  • Tia helped Jamal, and Jamal helped Tia. They helped themselves.

    Tia helped Jamal, and Jamal helped Tia. They helped each other.

    A → B, B → A: each other

  • They hugged each others.

    They hugged each other.

    each other: no -s

More lessons on this grammar: Pronouns lessons and exercises

Try the reflexive pronouns exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 17 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 games
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • use the right -self or -selves form for every person: I taught myself to swim. We enjoyed ourselves.
  • say someone did something alone or with no help: Grandma lives by herself. Try it yourself!
  • choose between themselves and each other: They looked at themselves in the water. They looked at each other.
  • encourage someone with phrases like Believe in yourself! and You can be proud of yourself.

Lesson 20 closes Game on, the fifth unit of English A2.1 · Then and Now. It builds on the object pronouns of A1.2 lesson 16, from me to them, and on the possessive adjectives of A1.1 lessons 5 and 7, since the -self forms grow out of both: my gives myself, him gives himself. Sport gives both halves of the grammar real work: teammates cheer for each other, and athletes teach themselves new skills.

The lesson opens with a wheel of questions about sports and being brave, and with ten words, from cheer and encourage to relish and polar plunge, shown with pictures and audio. Students go on to read a history notice on the first Special Olympics Games at Soldier Field in 1968, then listen to Nora and Calvin, a volunteer coach, at a team practice (an AI-voiced dialogue) and to a voice message with a challenge: cheer for a stranger. Next come the scheme and four self-checking exercises, one of them a table that turns me into myself. In the speaking chapter, students reply to Nora's messages from the practice, then open boxes that ask what they taught themselves and when they were brave.

Nothing in the homework needs marking: students match and unscramble the words, choose and type -self forms, put sentences in order, join pairs of sentences with each other, and complete a thank-you post and a message.

Grammar:
reflexive pronouns · myself, yourself, themselves · each other · enjoy yourself
Topic:
Special Olympics · Chicago · Soldier Field · sports · Chicago hot dogs · Grandpa's Map

Teaching tips

  • Show the difference with two volunteers: they point at themselves, then at each other, while the class describes it: They're pointing at themselves. Now they're pointing at each other.
  • Turn the chat into a pair interview: students ask each other Did you ever teach yourself a sport? and Do you and your friends encourage each other?, then report back with himself, herself or each other.
  • Ask what an athletes' oath might promise before the reading. Students guess, then find the real one in the notice: Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.
  • Replay the practice dialogue for its cheers: students call out each encouraging phrase they hear, from Come on, be brave! to Believe in yourself, then reuse them in the open-box round.

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The whole course: English A2.1 · Then and Now

32 lessons for adults at A2 in simple American English, from the past simple to going to, should and might. Eight units tell stories of journeys, American firsts, food, places, sports, music, neighbors and dreams. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Amazing journeys

    the past simple, regular and irregular verbs, negatives, prepositions of movement

    1. Lesson 1Around the world in 72 daysThe past simple of regular verbs
    2. Lesson 2The first drive across AmericaIrregular verbs in the past simple
    3. Lesson 3Get your kicks on Route 66Past simple negatives with didn't
    4. Lesson 4She walked 2,000 miles in sneakersPrepositions of movement

  2. Unit 2 American firsts

    was and were, past questions and short answers, ago and in, could for past ability

    1. Lesson 5The first American woman in spaceWas, were, there was and there were
    2. Lesson 6A real bug in the computerPast simple questions with did
    3. Lesson 7“Mr. Watson, come here”Wh- questions in the past simple
    4. Lesson 8Twelve seconds in the airCould and couldn't for past ability

  3. Unit 3 American food

    countable and uncountable nouns, comparatives, ordering food, a few and a little

    1. Lesson 9The first chocolate chip cookieCountable and uncountable nouns in a recipe
    2. Lesson 10Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero?Comparatives of short adjectives
    3. Lesson 11Two eggs, sunny side up!Offers and orders with would like
    4. Lesson 12Cooking for twenty on ThanksgivingA few, a little and a lot of

  4. Unit 4 City or country?

    comparatives with more and less, superlatives, as … as, too and enough

    1. Lesson 13The island with no carsComparatives with more and less, plus better, worse and farther
    2. Lesson 14America's extremesSuperlatives with the + -est, the most and the least
    3. Lesson 15San Francisco or Yosemite? You choose!As … as for the same, not as … as for less
    4. Lesson 16A park on an old railroadToo, enough and not … enough

  5. Unit 5 Game on

    play, go and do with sports, going to, adverbs of manner, reflexive pronouns

    1. Lesson 17Basketball started with peach baskets?Play, go and do with sports
    2. Lesson 18What's going to happen at LA 2028?Be going to for plans and predictions
    3. Lesson 19Pickleball: a game from a backyardAdverbs of manner
    4. Lesson 20 · you're hereBe brave and tryReflexive pronouns and each other

  6. Unit 6 Music and nights out

    love, enjoy and hate + -ing, the present continuous for plans, suggestions, to for purpose

    1. Lesson 21Where jazz was bornGerunds after love, like, enjoy, hate and don't mind
    2. Lesson 22Music on every streetThe present continuous for future arrangements
    3. Lesson 23A night on BroadwaySuggestions with Let's, Why don't we and How about
    4. Lesson 24An orchestra for every kidThe infinitive of purpose and to or for

  7. Unit 7 Neighbors and community

    much and many, should, something and everyone, because and so

    1. Lesson 25Everybody cleans up!Much and many with nouns you can and can't count
    2. Lesson 26Good neighbors shovel snowShould and shouldn't + the base verb
    3. Lesson 27Take a book, leave a bookIndefinite pronouns with some-, any-, no- and every-
    4. Lesson 28A bench for making friendsBecause for reasons, so for results

  8. Unit 8 Plans and dreams

    verb + to, the present continuous vs going to, might, when, before and after

    1. Lesson 29Never give up: from farm fields to spaceVerb + to + the base form
    2. Lesson 30Across America by trainGoing to and the present continuous for the future
    3. Lesson 31Open in the year 6939Might and might not for possibility
    4. Lesson 32A college graduate at 95Time clauses with when, before and after

Questions about this lesson

What are reflexive pronouns?
Reflexive pronouns are the -self words that point back to the subject: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves. Use one when someone does something to or for themselves, or with no help: I hurt myself. She taught herself to swim. The A2 lesson Be brave and try on edio.ai sets all eight out in one table, with yourself for one person and yourselves for two or more.
When do you use themselves?
Use themselves when they are both the doer and the object: They enjoyed themselves at the game. The athletes challenge themselves. It can also mean with no help: The kids made dinner themselves. Two traps: it's never theirselves, and when two people do something to one another, the word is each other: They helped each other.
How do you use each other?
Use each other when an action goes both ways: A helps B, and B helps A, so they help each other. It comes after the verb or a preposition: They hugged each other. The athletes cheer for each other. It never takes an -s (each others is wrong). In Be brave and try, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, a homework table turns pairs of sentences into one with each other.
What does "enjoy yourself" mean?
Enjoy yourself! means have a good time, and people say it before a party, a game or a trip: Enjoy yourself in Chicago! The pronoun changes with the person: We enjoyed ourselves. Kids, enjoy yourselves! In a statement, enjoy needs an object, so it's I enjoyed myself or I enjoyed the game, never just I enjoyed.
What's the difference between each other and one another?
Each other and one another mean the same in everyday English: They helped each other. They helped one another. An old rule keeps each other for two people and one another for three or more, but most speakers don't follow it, and each other is the more common choice. In the gap-fills of Be brave and try, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, both answers count.
When do you use myself and yourself instead of me and you?
Use myself and yourself when the doer and the object are the same person: I taught myself to skateboard. Did you hurt yourself? When someone else does the action, use me or you: My mom encourages me. So I taught me and You can be proud of you are mistakes, and so is My coach helped myself.
What's the difference between themselves and each other?
With themselves, each person does the action to himself or herself; with each other, each one does it to the other. They looked at themselves in the water means each runner saw their own face. They looked at each other means A looked at B and B looked at A. The same goes for help, hug and encourage: The athletes encourage each other.
What are some words of encouragement in English?
Common words of encouragement include You can do it! and Believe in yourself! Before someone tries, say Come on, be brave! or Try it yourself!; after, say Great job! or You can be proud of yourself. Several of them use a reflexive pronoun, which makes them good practice. The dialogue in Be brave and try, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, has a coach cheering a nervous first-timer through the long jump.
How do I teach reflexive pronouns to A2 students?
Build them from pronouns students already know: my, your and our give myself, yourself and ourselves, while him and them give himself and themselves. Add the uses one at a time, then bring in each other last, as the contrast: They helped themselves against They helped each other.
What's a good game for practicing reflexive pronouns?
Open-the-box questions that need a -self answer work well: What did you teach yourself?, When were you really proud of yourself? or Where did you really enjoy yourself last summer? Each answer switches yourself to myself: I taught myself to cook. For each other, pairs can mime a hug or a high five while the class says They're giving each other a high five!
What's good homework for practicing reflexive pronouns?
Typing the right -self form into short sentences makes good homework: My uncle taught … (he) to bake pies. The kids cleaned the kitchen … (they). Add one task that joins two sentences with each other, so I called my sister. My sister called me. becomes My sister and I called each other. Every homework task in Be brave and try, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, checks itself.
Are there interactive exercises for reflexive pronouns?
Yes: typed gap-fills and chat replies with instant feedback work well for -self forms. Anyone can try four parts of Be brave and try, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, right on this page with no account: the history notice on the first Special Olympics Games, the dialogue between Nora and Calvin at a team practice, a gap-fill of -self, -selves or each other, and a chat with Nora. The rest of the lesson is locked.
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