Hisself Or Himself

[DreamyPink307]

why we can't say , usselves or theirselvse instead of themselves ourselves and himself?
please I want an explaination.

 

[mykwyner]

Many rules of English grammar defy logical explanations. The rules governing reflexive pronouns are in that group.

myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves

NOT I-self or me-self; you-self; his-self, he-self or she-self; we-selves or us-selves, they-selves or their-selves.

Looking for logical reasons to explain English grammar or spelling will just make you dizzy. Spend your time practicing.

 

[Casiopea]

why we can't say , usselves or theirselvse instead of themselves ourselves and himself? please I want an explaination.

That's a really good question. :up: The short answer is, all the 3rd person pronouns regularized.;-)
In Old English, reflexive pronouns were formed by adding a genitive pronoun to the noun self. (I'll use Modern English pronouns to demonstrate).

genitive pronoun + self
my + self
our + selves
your + self
her + self
his + self
its + self
their + selves

The last three reflexive pronouns in that list changed in form by the time they made it to Modern English. The reason they changed had to do with another group of pronouns that existed in language, the dative pronouns (See below). Add a dative pronoun to the noun self and you get a whole new meaning: the ethical dative; e.g., my dog died on me; I need me a shovel, which expresses something like, and it's a loss that affects me' or more generally 'and I care', ' this concerns me, I'm involved.'
Dative pronouns look like accusative or object pronouns: me, us, you, her, him, it, them:

dative pronoun + self
me + self
us + selves
you + self
her + self
him + self
it + self
them + selves

Now, if you'll notice, the last four pronouns are identical in form to Modern English reflexive pronouns, herself, himself, itself, themselve(s). Moreover, they share something in common, they are all 3rd person forms. Speaking of having something in "common", if we look back at the genitive paradigm (See below), you'll notice that the 3rd person genitive reflexive form 'herself' shares the same form as the 3rd person ethical dative reflexive form. The two are identical:

genitive pronoun + self compared with dative pronoun + self
myself / meself
ourselves / usself
yourself / youself
herself /herself
hisself / himself
itsself / itself
theirselves / themselves

All the 3rd person reflexive pronouns regularized in form:

his self => him self
its self => it self
their selves => them selves

The process is called "analogy" and it began with "herself". That word shared the same form in both paradigms, but the other 3rd person forms had different forms, so what the speakers did was regularize the paradigms. They made the pattern easier to remember and use. :-D
All the best.

 

[DreamyPink307]

I need it this answer.:-D
Thanks a lot.:up: