Language changes constantly, but some fossilized forms stick around to test our patience. If you've ever heard someone say "hisself" and winced, you've encountered one of the most resilient nonstandard pronouns in English. While dictionaries and style guides label it incorrect, its persistence isn't an accident of ignorance. It has a centuries-long history tied directly to how we formed reflexive pronouns in the first place.
Standard English requires "himself," matching the objective pronoun "him" with the modifier "self." Yet millions of native speakers naturally generate "hisself" alongside "theirself." Understanding why this happens requires looking past rigid classroom rules and examining the actual mechanics of pronoun evolution. We'll break down why this form sounds wrong to modern ears, how it managed to survive, and what standard usage actually demands today.
The Linguistic Roots of Hisself
To understand why "hisself" exists, we need to look at how reflexive pronouns developed in English. In Old and Middle English, pronouns like him and hit (it) were paired with the adjective self to emphasize identity. However, the exact pairing wasn't locked into the objective case (him + self) right away.
During the Middle English period, speakers often combined the possessive pronoun (his) or the genitive case with self, yielding forms like hisself and theirself. This matched the pattern used for first and second-person pronouns. Think about how we say "myself" and "yourself." Both "my" and "your" function as possessive determiners, not objective pronouns.
Speakers naturally sought symmetry in the pronoun paradigm. If the first person uses the possessive form (my + self) and the second person uses the possessive form (your + self), applying the same logic to the third person naturally produces hisself and theirself. From a purely logical standpoint, the historical speakers who used hisself were actually trying to make the language more consistent.
Why Standard English Chose Himself
Language doesn't always follow strict logic, though. As English standardized during the early modern period, grammarians and printers began codifying rules that favored objective pronouns for the masculine and feminine third-person reflexives.
Instead of aligning with the possessive (my, your, his), the third-person masculine and feminine shifted to align with the objective case (him + self and her + self). That is why we say himself and herself instead of hisself and harself.
When dictionaries like Samuel Johnson's and early grammar guides gained influence in the eighteenth century, they cemented these choices as the standard. Forms that deviated from this newly minted consensus—like hisself and themself—were marked as vulgar, uneducated, or provincial. Despite this official stamp of disapproval, spoken dialects in various regions of North America and the British Isles kept hisself alive through generations of oral tradition.
Modern Status and Sociolinguistic Stigma
Today, using hisself in formal writing, academic papers, or professional communication is a definitive error. Spellcheckers flag it, and readers will immediately view it as a grammatical mistake. It occupies a space in English grammar known as a stigmatized nonstandard form.
Stigmatized forms are interesting because they aren't actually confusing. If someone says, "He washed hisself," every listener understands the meaning instantly. Communication succeeds without friction. The rejection of hisself is entirely social rather than communicative. It serves as a linguistic marker that separates formal registers from casual or regional speech.
Linguists often point out the double standard inherent in how we judge these forms. We accept myself and yourself without a second thought, even though they break the exact same objective-case rule that hisself breaks. If myself followed the strict objective rule of himself, we would say meself. Because language evolves through messy historical compromises rather than neat mathematical formulas, we end up with these inconsistencies.
Recognizing Other Nonstandard Reflexives
Hisself isn't the only casualty of the standardisation process. Several other reflexive variations pop up in casual speech and regional dialects.
- Theirself and Theirselves: Much like hisself, these forms attempt to apply the possessive logic to plural third-person pronouns. Standard English uses themselves, which blends the plural objective them with selves.
- Harself: You rarely hear this one today, but historical records show regional variations where the feminine possessive was paired with self, mirroring the logic that produced hisself.
- Ourself: While generally considered archaic or nonstandard today, ourself occasionally appears in royal or editorial contexts (the editorial "we"), though ourselves is the standard plural form.
For a deeper look into how dictionaries track these shifts over time, you can explore resources like the Merriam-Webster Dictionary or consult historical guides hosted by the British Library.
How to Avoid Common Mistakes in Writing
Writing cleanly means paying attention to these hidden traps. Reflexive pronouns have specific jobs in a sentence, and mixing up standard and nonstandard forms can undermine your credibility.
First, remember that reflexive pronouns should only be used when the subject and the object of the sentence refer to the same entity. For example, "He cut himself" is correct because the subject (he) and the object (himself) are the same person. Writing "He cut hisself" introduces a nonstandard marker that distracts your reader.
Second, avoid hypercorrection—the tendency to use reflexive pronouns where simple objective pronouns belong just because you want to sound formal. People often say things like, "Please send the report to John and myself." This is incorrect. You wouldn't say, "Please send the report to myself." The correct form is, "Please send the report to John and me."
Keep your pronoun choices simple, direct, and aligned with established standards. While language belongs to everyone who speaks it, mastering standard written English remains essential for professional success.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is hisself ever considered correct in any dialect?
It is widely documented in regional dialects across the United States and the United Kingdom as a spoken, nonstandard form. However, it is never accepted as correct in formal writing, edited prose, or standard English examinations.
Why do we say myself and yourself instead of me-self?
Historical development favored the possessive determiner (my and your) for the first and second person, while favoring the objective pronoun (him and her) for the third person. This asymmetry is simply a quirk of how English evolved.
What is the difference between a reflexive and an intensive pronoun?
Both look identical, but they do different jobs. A reflexive pronoun reflects the action back on the subject ("She blamed herself"). An intensive pronoun adds emphasis to a noun or pronoun ("The president himself signed the bill").
How can I stop using nonstandard pronouns in speech?
Awareness is the first step. If you grew up hearing forms like hisself or themself in your local community, consciously practicing standard alternatives during formal communication will help retrain your habits over time.
