Questions & Answers about Er kocht selbst.
Wait, the lesson is about reflexive pronouns like sich. Why doesn't this sentence use sich for 'himself'?
That is exactly why this sentence is here! In English, words like 'himself' do double duty. They act as reflexive pronouns ('He sees himself' = Er sieht sich) and they also act as emphasis to mean 'by himself' or 'personally'. If you said Er kocht sich, you would be saying he is literally boiling his own body! To say he does the cooking personally, you use selbst.
So how do I know when to use selbst instead of a reflexive pronoun like mich or sich?
Use selbst when you want to emphasize that someone is doing the action personally or without help (like 'I will do it myself' = Ich mache es selbst). Use a reflexive pronoun like sich when the subject is the direct receiver of the action (like 'He washes himself' = Er wäscht sich).
Does selbst change its form depending on who we are talking about?
No, selbst never changes. Unlike reflexive pronouns which change depending on the person (mich, dich, sich, etc.), selbst stays exactly the same. It is ich koche selbst (I cook myself) and wir kochen selbst (we cook ourselves).
What if I want to say 'He cooks for himself'?
Then you would use the preposition für (for) plus the accusative reflexive pronoun sich. That would be: Er kocht für sich. You can even combine them for extra emphasis: Er kocht für sich selbst (He cooks for himself personally).
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