Some dictionaries list the phrase in the generic form of 'Suit oneself' (e.g. Merriam-Webster). Although I have come across the phrase 'Suit yourself' many times, I haven't seen any example usage for other reflexive pronouns like themselves. Is it possible to use the phrase like 'Suit themselves' to mean 'I don't agree but they can do whatever they want'?
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2You can say that “they may suit themselves” without problems,– XanneCommented Jun 16, 2019 at 9:17
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1 Answer
No: "suit themselves" is not a grammatical sentence.
Suit in "suit yourself" is in the imperative mood: it's telling your interlocutor to do something. You can only tell someone to do something if you are addressing them directly. The reflexive pronoun yourself refers to the person you're addressing.
With themselves, you are talking about people, not to them. So you can't use an imperative verb. You would need to say something like "They can suit themselves," using an indicative form.
answered Jun 16, 2019 at 9:23
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Thank you for the clarification. I'm unable to upvote your answer because I don't have enough reputation. I hope somebody does it on behalf of me.– codecengCommented Jun 16, 2019 at 10:01