3.28 true reflexive verbs

Note that the verbs 'busy', 'content', and 'pride' are true reflexive verbs: they must be used with a reflexive pronoun.

• He had busied himself in the laboratory.
• Conrad and I contented ourselves with expressing our relief.
• He prides himself on his tidiness.

3.29

Another small group of verbs can only take an object which refers to a person when the object is a reflexive pronoun. For example, you can 'express an opinion' and you can 'express yourself', meaning that you can put ideas into words, but you cannot 'express a person'.

• Professor Baxendale expressed himself very forcibly.
• She enjoyed herself enormously.
• He applied himself to learning how Parliament worked.

Here is a list of verbs which take a reflexive pronoun as object when you refer to a person:

• apply, compose, distance, enjoy, excel, exert, express, strain