Somebody

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'Somebody' is used to refer to general and specific people. In this part, we will go through its uses and grammatical rules in English grammar.

Somebody is an indefinite pronoun used to refer to both general and specific people. In this lesson, we will discuss when and how to use it.

'Somebody' as an Indefinite Pronoun

Use

Somebody is used to refer to general or specific people. Here are some examples:

I know somebody who can play drums.

'Somebody' refers to a specific person, here.

Somebody is trying to get rid of this.

Here, we are referring to a person we do not know.

Position in a Sentence

Somebody as an indefinite pronoun replaces the subject or the object. It is always used with a singular verb. For example:

Somebody was trying to break into our house last night.

'Somebody' is the subject.

I know somebody who is a violinist.

'Somebody' is the object.

Negation with 'Somebody'

Somebody is a positive pronoun so in order to make it negative, we use the negative pronoun nobody. We can also use another indefinite pronoun that is anybody with a negative verb. Take a look at the following examples:

A : I know somebody in this class.

B : But I don't know anybody.

C : I also know nobody.

'Somebody' as a Noun

Somebody can also be used as a noun that means a famous, renowned person, someone of authority. It can be used in plural form. Take a look at the following examples:

All of them think they are somebodies but they are just petty criminals.

Tip

Somebody can be replaced with they when it is repeated in a sentence. Accordingly, its object pronoun is them, its possessive determiner is their, and its possessive pronoun is theirs. Look:

Somebody is trying to catch us. They are getting close.

Somebody was trying to help the kid. Weren't they?

Somebody should know their duties.

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