0
Deepuji Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
Please look at the following under-lined part
Within the short space of a month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government have gone through the entire cycle of India-Pakistan ties, as they have played for the past two decades ever since the two countries agreed to a composite, structured dialogue between them.
Should it not be 'between themselves' instead of 'between themselves'? What is the difference between these two? As it concerns the two countries in question.
Please tell me what the difference is between: 'between them' and 'between themselves' in this context.
Thank you.
Within the short space of a month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government have gone through the entire cycle of India-Pakistan ties, as they have played for the past two decades ever since the two countries agreed to a composite, structured dialogue between them.
Should it not be 'between themselves' instead of 'between themselves'? What is the difference between these two? As it concerns the two countries in question.
Please tell me what the difference is between: 'between them' and 'between themselves' in this context.
Thank you.
Top answer
g. they hurt themselves, he ate it himself). In this case, they subject and object are the same (they both refer to the two countries) so themselves would be correct.
- g.
- they hurt themselves, he ate it himself).
- In this case, they subject and object are the same (they both refer to the two countries) so themselves would be correct.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
3 Answers
0
Normally, you would use the reflexive version (themselves) when both the subject and object refer to the same thing (e.g. they hurt themselves, he ate it himself). In this case, they subject and object are the same (they both refer to the two countries) so themselves would be correct.
00
The reflexive is not used in this case. The reflexive is mainly reserved to refer to the exact antecedent when the pronoun ("them") would be ambiguous. The reflexive is also used for emphasis.
People must learn to be responsible for themselves. ("them" would imply some other people.)
Several victims took themselves to hospitals for treatment.
They don't want to draw attention to t
People must learn to be responsible for themselves. ("them" would imply some other people.)
Several victims took themselves to hospitals for treatment.
They don't want to draw attention to t
00
deepujithe two countries agreed to a composite, structured dialogue between them.There is no action jointly performed on "them" (i.e., "they" are not the joint recipients of any action), so "themselves" is not appropriate. Compare: They injured themselves playing rugby.
Similarly, They placed a pillow between them. (not
0
Related Questions