Answer:
There was a rich man who had two sons. His oldest son was quite the hard-worker. He would help around the house and farm, taking care of several things <em>himself</em>. This son was also humble and generous, never asking for things for <u>himself</u>. The youngest son, however, was completely different than his brother. He was lazy, never really doing things<em> </em><em>himself</em>. He would much rather go to the town nearby, have fun and a couple of drinks with his friends, and only come home to sleep.
One day, the youngest son asked his father to give him his inheritance. His father obliged, and the son left with his money. Not long afterward, he had spent every single dime. Too embarrassed to return home, too poor to do nothing about it, he ended up begging others for help. He finally found a job at a farm, taking care of pigs. Since he was not well paid or taken care of, he would end up eating some of the pig food. He couldn’t help but pity <u>himself</u>. He remembered his father’s employees were well groomed and fed, so he decided to go back home and ask to work for his father.
The father saw the youngest son walking toward him from a distance. He ran to meet him halfway, hugged him and welcomed him home. He asked his employees to prepare a banquet to celebrate his son’s return. But the oldest son was jealous. He told his father, “I <em>myself</em><em> </em>have been working incessantly for you. Yet, I have never asked for anything for <u>myself</u>. How come this son who has spent your money recklessly is welcomed like this?” But his father explain that he loved them both equally, and that everything that was his also belonged to his oldest son.
Explanation:
Above you will find three reflexive and three intensive pronouns. Besides underlining and italicizing them, I have highlighted them to make them easier to find.
Reflexive pronouns and intensive pronouns are quite similar. They are pronouns that end in -self or -selves. However, as the name suggests, reflexive pronouns indicate that the subject and the object of the action expressed by the verb are the same person or thing. For instance: I cut myself. --> I performed and received the action of cutting. On the other hand, intensive pronouns are only used to emphasize the importance of something or someone. They are not essential for the meaning of the sentence. For example: I myself made the cake. --> It was me, not someone else.
