What does yourselves mean?
Yourselves is the second-person plural form of the reflexive pronoun yourself. It normally refers to a group of two or more people who are also the people performing the action: “You can choose yourselves a partner” refers back to the people being addressed. It can also function as an intensive, adding emphasis, as in “Did you build the model yourselves?” The pronoun is standard in formal and informal English, although speakers often choose the simpler plural “you” when no reflexive or emphatic meaning is needed. Yourselves is especially useful when a group is being addressed directly, when the subject and object would otherwise be identical, or when emphasis helps distinguish the group’s own choices or actions from those of others. Although “yourselves” may sound emphatic or slightly formal, it is not limited to any one register or region. It belongs to a family of English reflexive forms that also includes yourself, myself, ourselves, themselves, and himself or herself.
pronounYourselves is the second-person plural reflexive pronoun, referring to a group of two or more people who are also the people performing the action. It can also be used intensively for emphasis.
- Reflexive: refers to the group of people addressed as the doers of the action.
- Intensive: emphasizes that the people addressed performed the action personally.
"Please help yourselves to coffee and refreshments."
"Please help yourselves to anything in the fridge."
"After the presentation, you can ask yourselves whether the proposal addressed every concern."
Yourselves gives “you” plural power: it can point back to the whole group and, with emphasis, underscore that they did something entirely for themselves.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of yourselves
Yourselves is the plural form of yourself, combining the second-person plural pronoun “you” with the reflexive element “-selves.” The “selves” element belongs to the same Old English “self” root found in myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, and ourselves. Modern “yourselves” therefore reflects the development of a second-person plural form within the English reflexive-pronoun paradigm.
How yourselves is actually used
Standard in formal and informal English across British and American usage. It is especially natural when addressing a group directly, but speakers often use the simpler plural “you” when no reflexive or emphatic meaning is required.
Easily confused with yourselves
Yourself is singular and refers to one person, whereas yourselves is plural and refers to two or more people.