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Milky Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
Pronoun inconsistency.
Why is the standard form of the reflexive pronoun "himself" and not "hisself"?
Top answer
Milky Why is the standard form of the reflexive pronoun "himself" and not "hisself"? One can only guess why the 3rd person masculine singular strays from the rule, as does the 3rd person plural. In the singular, I believe it is probably because of the double 's', which at some time looked and sounded bad to the general population.
- Milky Why is the standard form of the reflexive pronoun "himself" and not "hisself"?
- One can only guess why the 3rd person masculine singular strays from the rule, as does the 3rd person plural.
- In the singular, I believe it is probably because of the double 's', which at some time looked and sounded bad to the general population.
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2 Answers
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MilkyWhy is the standard form of the reflexive pronoun "himself" and not "hisself"?One can only guess why the 3rd person masculine singular strays from the rule, as does the 3rd person plural. In the singular, I believe it is probably because of the double 's', which at some time looked and sounded bad to the general population.
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As a matter of fact, you may find hissself here and there, but it's sub-standard.
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his·self
Function: pronoun
substandard : HIMSELF<when he come to hisself they told him it was a Union hospital -- Helen Eustis>
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his·self
Function: pronoun
substandard : HIMSELF<when he come to hisself they told him it was a Union hospital -- Helen Eustis>
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