| A | B |
|---|
| By fifth grade, Ben Carson considered himself the dumbest kid in his class. | reflexive; the sentence does not make sense without "himself" |
| His mother was raising Ben and his brother herself. | Intensive; it still makes sense if you take out "herself" |
| When she saw his report card, she decided that she herself would give him extra homework assignments: two book reports every week. | Intensive; the sentence still makes sense without "herself" |
| She also told her sones to limit themselves to only two TV shows each week. | Reflexive; "themselves" is needed in the sentence. |
| Ben outdid himself. | Reflexive; "himself" is needed for the meaning. |
| He learned to love reading and then to love learning itself. | Intensive; "itself" isn't necessary for the sentence to make sense. |
| He promised himself he would rise to the top of his class. | Reflexive; "himself" directs the action of "promised" back to "He" |
| Carson went on to become a first-rate doctor, surprising even himself with some of his successful cases. | Reflexive; "himself" directs the action verb "promised" back to "Carson" |
| He has performed many operations that other doctors feared to try themselves. | Intensive; "themselves" can be taken out, and the sentence still makes sense. |
| He himself likes the challenge of difficult surgery. | Intensive; "himself" simply emphasizes "He" and isn't necessary to the meaning of the sentence. |
