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TOEIC Link Part 5 — himself vs him: When the Reflexive Is Required, Optional, or Wrong

Part 5 tests reflexive pronouns (himself, themselves, itself) against plain object pronouns (him, them, it) using one governing rule — coreference with the subject. This guide gives the same-subject test that makes the reflexive mandatory, the emphatic use where it is optional, the by-oneself idiom, and the two traps where a reflexive is flatly wrong, with worked TOEIC-style items.

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The new manager introduced ____ to the entire department on her first day. The blank wants herself, not her, and the reason is not stylistic — it is grammatical. The person doing the introducing and the person being introduced are the same, and English marks that identity with a reflexive pronoun. TOEIC tests himself/herself/themselves/itself against the plain object forms him/her/them/it because candidates choose by ear, and the ear is unreliable here. The decision is governed by a single question with a yes/no answer.

The rule: same-subject coreference

Use the reflexive (-self/-selves) form when the object refers to the same entity as the subject of the clause. Use the plain object pronoun when it refers to someone or something else.

  • Same person → reflexive: She blamed *herself*. (she = the one blamed)
  • Different person → object: She blamed *her*. (her = someone else)

Both sentences are grammatical; they simply mean different things. But TOEIC constructs items where only one reading is possible, so only one form is correct. The test is mechanical: find the subject, find what the object refers to, and check whether they are the same. This is the same subject-tracking discipline that governs pronoun reference and antecedent disambiguation — the reflexive is just the case where the antecedent is the subject itself.

When the reflexive is mandatory

The reflexive is required whenever the subject acts on itself as the direct or indirect object of the verb:

  • The system automatically updates *itself* overnight. (the system = what is updated)
  • The board members recused *themselves* from the vote.
  • Please help *yourself* to the refreshments.

If you can prove the object is the same entity as the subject, the plain object pronoun is wrong. The system updates it would mean the system updates some other thing — a different sentence. TOEIC exploits exactly this: the distractor it/them/him is grammatical in isolation but produces a meaning the sentence context forbids.

When the reflexive is emphatic (and optional)

A second, separate use adds emphasis and is not required by grammar — it can be removed without breaking the sentence:

  • The CEO *herself* signed the contract. (= the CEO, personally)
  • We built the prototype *ourselves*. (= without outside help)

Here the reflexive doubles a noun or the subject for emphasis. In Part 5 this appears when the blank sits right after the subject noun or at the end of a clause and the sentence is already complete without it. The tell is that removing the word leaves a grammatical sentence — a signal that the reflexive is emphatic, not objective.

The by + reflexive idiom

by oneself is a fixed phrase meaning "alone" or "without assistance":

  • She completed the audit *by herself*.

When you see by immediately before the blank and the meaning is "alone," the reflexive is required. by her would mean "next to her" or introduce an agent — a different meaning. This idiom overlaps with the way pronoun case is fixed by the surrounding structure rather than chosen by ear: the preposition by plus the "alone" meaning locks the form.

The two places a reflexive is wrong

1. As the subject

A reflexive can never be the subject of a clause:

  • Wrong: Myself will handle the request.
  • Correct: *I* will handle the request.

TOEIC plants myself/themselves in subject position to catch candidates who think the reflexive sounds more formal. It is simply ungrammatical there.

2. When the object is a different entity

If the object clearly refers to someone other than the subject, the reflexive is wrong:

  • Wrong: The manager thanked herself's team. / The client asked us to email himself the invoice.
  • Correct: The client asked us to email *him* the invoice. (him = the client, but we are the subject of email)

This second example is the subtle one. In to email him, the subject of email is we (the ones emailing), and the client is a different entity from that subject — so the plain object him is correct even though the client is mentioned earlier. The reflexive tracks the subject of its own clause, not the nearest noun.

Worked items

  1. Employees who work remotely must motivate ____ to stay on schedule.

    • Subject employees = the ones motivated → themselves.

  2. The director will present the findings ____ at the shareholder meeting.

    • Sentence is complete without the blank; emphasis on the director → herself (emphatic, optional but the only pronoun that fits).

  3. After the training, please forward the certificate to ____ manager.

    • Possessive slot before a noun, not a reflexive context → your (distractor yourself is impossible before a noun).

  4. The equipment shuts ____ down when it overheats.

    • Subject equipment = what is shut down → itself.

The one-question decision

For every -self versus plain-object item, ask: does the object refer to the subject of this same clause? Yes → reflexive. No → plain object. Then run two guards: a reflexive is never a subject, and it tracks the subject of its own clause, not the nearest earlier noun. That single question plus two guards resolves the entire item type — no ear required.