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174
I
learned to dress myself many years ago. (direct object)
“How well you talk,” said the Miller’s wife pouring herself a large glass of warm ale. (indirect object)
She talks only about herself. (prepositional object)
Less common are the functions of the subject, predicative, attribute, and adverbial modifiers:
My wife and myself welcome you, sir. (subject)
In some minutes she became herself again. (predicative)
She showed me a large picture of herself as a bride. (attribute)
My brother was a Robbins like myself. (adverbial modifier of comparison)
He lived in a tiny cottage all by himself. (adverbial modifier of manner)
§ 219. Reciprocal pronouns indicate a mutual relationship between two or more than two persons, or
occasionally non-persons (each other, one another) who are at the same time the doer and the object of the
same action. Thus They loved each other means that the doer A loved the object and at the same time the
doer loved the object A.
The pronoun each other generally implies that only two persons are involved, one another usually being
preferred when more than two persons are involved.
Both of them are composite words and have only one grammatical category - the category of case (each
other’s, one another’s).
Reciprocal pronouns in their common case form function as objects:
Now they hate each other. They often quarrelled with one another.
The possessive case forms are used as attributes:
They stood silent, in each other’s arms.
§ 220. Demonstrative pronouns point to persons or non-persons or their properties: this (these), that
(those), such.* The first two of them have the category of number. This (these) and that (those) function both as
noun-pronouns and adjective-pronouns; such functions only as an adjective-pronoun:
* The demonstrative of it was given above. See Personal pronouns.
This is my brother Rob.
That is very kind of you.
(noun-pronouns)
This house is too large just for one person.
She is such a silly little tiring.
(adjective-pronouns)
The general demonstrative meaning of this (these) is of relatively near reference in time or space, while that
(those) implies distant reference in time or space. Both of them are commonly used anaphorically, pointing to
things, persons, or situations denoted in the preceding context, as in the following examples with this and that:
He tried the door. This did not yield.
A tall blonde came forward. This was the barman’s wife.
“I often wondered how you were getting on.” – “That was very kind of you.”
Sometimes, however, these pronouns may be used with anticipatory force, pointing to something new, or
something still to come:
I
know this – you’re a traitor.
This time I'll win.
I’ve never seen this dress of yours.
When used with words denoting periods of time (a day and its parts, week, month, year, century) the
pronoun this implies that these periods include the moment of speaking: