Quote Originally Posted by Helenej View Post
The reflexive pronoun себя (себе, собой) indicates that the action returns to the doer, i.e. when the subject and object or subject and adverbial modifier are the same persons. In other cases we use personal pronouns я, ты, он, она, они, оно, мы, вы, они in indirect cases: меня, тебе, нами, нем etc.

Она увидела себя в зеркале. Она увидела его в зеркале.

The same is true about the reflexive pronoun свой, своя, свое, свои with that difference that they are used as attributes of the object or adverbial modifier.

Она увидела в зеркале свое исхудавшее лицо. Она увидела в зеркале его исхудавшее лицо.
Helenej, thanks! So are you saying that whenever the Pimsleur tapes are having us say, "I would like to eat (or whatever) at my place," they are incorrect in having us use у меня because the subject of the sentence is "I" and the object is "me/mine"? So that it would be correct to use у меня if the speaker was saying, "You would like to eat at my place" ?

Sorry if I'm being dense...I didn't pay much attention during 9th-grade grammar and I'm a little shaky on these concepts even in English!

Because you asked, I looked at your post for grammar issues and did find one small one which I didn't even notice the first time I read your post:

The same is true about the reflexive pronoun свой, своя, свое, свои with that difference that they are used as attributes of the object or adverbial modifier.
should be "The same is true about the reflexive pronoun свой, своя, свое, свои with the difference that they are used as attributes of the object or adverbial modifier."

Your English is nearly perfect, with only very slight idiomatic differences.

Thanks again!

Val