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(1) Andrew looked at him in the mirror.
(2) Andrew looked at himself in the mirror.

Does (1) include (2)’s possibility? Or does him in (1) only refer to someone other than Andrew?

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  • 3
    Your second interpretation is correct; in this context "him" can only apply to a non-Andrew person; if Andrew is looking at Andrew the he is looking at himself.
    – Dan Bron
    Commented Nov 11, 2014 at 12:39
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    without 'himself' he's definitely looking at someone else.
    – DoneWithThis.
    Commented Nov 11, 2014 at 12:39

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The two are separate from one another:

In [1], 'him' must mean someone else, as it is not a reflexive pronoun (that is, a pronoun ending in 'self'). Andrew is thus looking at another person.

In [2], 'himself' is a reflexive pronoun, so Andrew is looking at Andrew('s reflection).

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