# ourselves

Pronunciation: US say "ow-ur-SELVZ" /aʊɚˈsɛlvz/; UK say "ow-uh-SELVZ" /aʊəˈsɛlvz/

## Pronoun

1. Used in place of 'us' when the people referred to, including the speaker, are also the subject of the clause.
   - Simple: Used instead of "us" when the same people both do and receive the action.
   - _We promised ourselves a long break once the project was finished._
   - _After the argument, we found ourselves apologizing at the same moment._
2. Used for emphasis, to stress that the group including the speaker is the one that performs or experiences what is said, often meaning without help.
   - Simple: Used to stress that it is we who do or feel something, often with no help from anyone else.
   - _We painted every room ourselves rather than hiring contractors._
   - _We ourselves were surprised by how quickly the plan came together._
3. Used by a speaker to mean 'you' (one person or a group being addressed), as a warm way of speaking that can also sound patronizing. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Used to mean 'you' when speaking kindly to someone, like a nurse or teacher. It can sound like talking down.
   - _Right, are we settling ourselves in nicely back there?_
   - _The teacher frowned at the two boys giggling by the window and said, "Are we quite pleased with ourselves?"_

## Origin

Formed from "our" combined with the plural ending "-selves."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/ourselves (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).