I'm working on an essay and when I did spell and grammar check it said a reflexive pronoun was use....

Question

And I was wondering what that was. Also how would I rephrase this sentence to make it grammatically correct?

"It was for his own good"

Thanks!

Answer 1

If you look in the mirror, you will see yourself reflected. Similarly a "reflexive" pronoun "reflects" the subject of the sentence. So you might say:  I will do it myself. (Myself is a reflexive pronoun related to "I.")

It is not correct to say "If you have any questions, call my secretary or MYSELF." People say this all the time, apparently thinking it sounds sophisticated. It is correct to say "call my secretary or me."

(Call me, call my secretary . . .)

Other examples of reflexive pronouns:

She will pick up the books herself.

He did it himself.

Take care of it yourself.

Your sentence "It was for his own good" is fine. The spell check is upset because the subject is "it" with no reference to who HE is, for which the it is supposed to be good.

Spell and grammar check are really great tools. Sometimes they lack logic and it gets a bit confusing.

Your second sentence would be better as:  "I conclude that George Milton is not . . . . "

Don't start with "so . . . "  We understand that what you had to say before that final sentence is from where you draw your conclusion.