Question

Fill in the blank using a suitable pronoun:
The window seemed to open all by _________.

• A. itself
• B. himself
• C. ourselves
• D. herself

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

itself

Reflexive pronouns are words ending in '-self' or -'selves' that are used when the subject and the object of a sentence are the same. All the given words are 'reflexive pronouns'.

The subject of the given sentence is 'The window'. It is a singular noun in the third person, which is a non-living thing. The word, 'it' is the suitable pronoun in the third person which can refer to such a noun. Hence, option A is the correct answer.

Options B and D are forms of the pronouns, 'he' and 'she', which are in the third person and are singular. However, these refer to living persons and not to non-living things. Hence, these are incorrect answers.

Option C is incorrect as 'ourselves' is derived from the pronoun 'we', which is in first person and plural form.