Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things without saying exactly who or what they are. In this lesson, we will learn more about these pronouns.
What Are Indefinite Pronouns?
Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things without saying exactly who or what they are.
These pronouns do not have a specific gender and can be singular, plural, or both.
Tip!
Indefinite pronouns referring to people end in the suffixes '-body' or '-one,' and indefinite pronouns referring to things end in '-thing.'
Singular Indefinite Pronouns
These pronouns are always followed by a singular verb even if they refer to a number of people/things. You can find these pronouns in the following table:
Singular Indefinite Pronouns Referring to People
These pronouns generally refer to people:
Indefinite Pronoun | Meaning | Type |
---|---|---|
anybody/anyone | A person, no matter who | Elective |
nobody/no one | No person | Negative |
everybody/everyone | All people | Universal |
somebody/someone | A person | Assertive |
The different types of indefinite pronouns will be explained later in this article.
Now take a look at the following examples:
You know that 'everybody' means all people and it does not refer to the same person, yet we use a singular verb after it; that is why it is called a singular indefinite pronoun.
Do
'Anybody' refers to more than one person, yet we use a singular helping verb for it.
Difference between the Words 'One' and 'Body'
In all of the pronouns above, the two words have the same meaning; 'anybody' has the same meaning as 'anyone,' but there is a small difference between them. In general, the indefinite pronouns ending in 'one' (anyone, everyone, no one) are a little more formal, and therefore you can use them in writing.
'Everyone' is more formal, although they have similar meaning.
Singular Indefinite Pronouns Referring to Things
The following indefinite pronouns all have '-thing' at the end, so it is easy to remember that they all refer to things. You can see them in the table below:
Indefinite Pronoun | Meaning | Type |
---|---|---|
Anything | A thing, no matter what | Elective |
Nothing | No things | Negative |
Everything | All things | Universal |
Something | A thing no matter what | Assertive |
Let's see these indefinite pronouns in some examples:
I've been friends with Sarah for over ten years and
Notice that, 'nothing' has a negative meaning; it means no things.
If you ever need
In the example, 'something' refers to 'a thing', no matter what.
Referring Back to an Indefinite Pronoun
When we refer back to an indefinite pronoun, we normally use a plural pronoun:
In this example, 'they' refers back to 'everybody.'
Let's tell
Here in this sentence, 'they,' that is a plural pronoun, refers back to 'somebody.'
Making Possessives
Normally we cannot add 's' to pronouns to make them possessives. But we can add 's to an indefinite pronoun to make a possessive:
They were staying in
'S is added to 'somebody' to indicate possession.
Is this
'S is added to 'anybody' to show possession.
the Adverb 'Else'
We use 'else' after indefinite pronouns to refer to other people or things in addition to the people/things already mentioned.
All the family came, but no one
Here, in this example, 'no one else' refers to people other than the family members.
If Manuel can't come, we'll ask somebody
In this statement, 'somebody' else refers to a person other than 'Manuel.'
I think this is somebody
Remember, you can even add 's to 'else' to show possession.
Singular Indefinite Pronouns about Two Things/People
'Neither' and 'either' and 'both' is used when you have two things/people to talk about. After these pronouns, you use a singular verb.
Indefinite Pronoun | Meaning | Type |
---|---|---|
Either | One of the two | Elective |
Neither | None of the two | Negative |
Both | Two things/people together | Universal |
Let's have a few examples for these pronouns:
Jim asked me if I wanted tea or coffee and I told him
You can easily define that 'either' means it does not matter which option.
I wanted to see my friends and go to the park, but
In this example, 'neither' means not one nor the other of the two things.
I can never choose between cats and dogs; I think
The definition of this sentence is 'dogs are lovely and cats are lovely too.'
Singular or Plural Verb?
'Neither of' and 'either of' are followed by a plural noun or pronoun and a singular or plural verb. A plural verb is more informal.
Neither of my parents
Using a plural verb is more informal.
Singular Indefinite Pronouns for Uncountable Noun
The pronouns in the table below all refer to an indefinite amount of something (usually used with uncountable noun). With these pronouns, we must use singular verbs.
Indefinite Pronoun | Meaning | Type |
---|---|---|
Enough | Sufficient amount | Quantifier |
Little | A small amount | Quantifier |
Less | In comparison, a smaller amount | Quantifier |
Much | A lot | Quantifier |
Now let's look at some examples:
It is important to know that 'little' is followed by a singular verb.
I've had
If Josh leaves the company,
'Not Much' as a Negative Marker
We can use 'much' as a negative marker by adding 'not' before it.
'Not much' is followed by a singular verb, because the general rule of 'much' stays the same, even if we add 'not' before it.
Other Singular Indefinite Pronouns
In the table below, you can see the last singular indefinite pronouns:
Indefinite Pronoun | Meaning | Type |
---|---|---|
Another | One more of something/someone, or a different thing/person | Alternative |
Other | A different person/thing from someone/something mentioned before | Alternative |
Each | One person or thing among a group | Universal |
Now let’s look at some examples:
My son loved his ice cream so much that I decided to buy him
'Another' refers to ice cream and it means 'one more' of it. Remember a pronoun is not followed by a noun.
There has been lots of debate about getting married or staying single and I think
Here, in this example, 'each' means 'both'. Remember a pronoun is not followed by a noun.
Shannon had two dogs; one was big and friendly, but the
In this example 'other' refers to another dog apart from the one which was mentioned earlier.
Plural Indefinite Pronouns
Plural indefinite pronouns are always followed by a verb in the plural form and are treated as a plural noun. Therefore, the verb after them never takes the third person 's.'
Note that all of these pronouns can be used both for people and things, and they are all positive. You can find these pronouns in the following table:
Indefinite Pronoun | Meaning | Type |
---|---|---|
Others | Other people except from us | Alternative |
Few | A small number | Quantifier |
Fewer | In comparison, a smaller number | Quantifier |
Many | A lot | Quantifier |
Several | A number of people/things, not too many | Quantifier |
Now let's see some examples:
I don't know what
In this example, 'others' is the same as 'other people'. It refers to more than one person.
In this example, 'several' is the plural indefinite pronoun that is followed by a plural verb; remember the verb never gets third person singular 's.'
Singular/Plural Indefinite Pronouns
These pronouns can be followed by both the singular form of verbs or the plural form. Also, all of them refer to people and things.
Indefinite Pronouns | Meaning | Type |
---|---|---|
All | The entire number/amount | Universal |
None | No people/things | Negative |
Some | An unspecified number/amount | Assertive |
Any | An unknown number/amount | Elective |
Such | Of the type mentioned before | Alternative |
More | A greater number of people/things | Quantifier |
Most | Almost all | Quantifier |
Now look at some examples:
In this example, 'most' refers to a plural noun because it is followed by a plural verb. Now take a look at this example; 'Most is drunk nowadays.' In this case 'most' refers to 'water' and requires a singular verb.
I am an immigrant and people here talk to me as
Here, in this example 'such' refers to 'an immigrant.'Now look at this example, She has bad habits that I hate such. In this case, 'such' refers to habits which is plural.
The pronoun 'all' can either refer to the whole number or amount or the only thing(s). See the examples:
You told me your siblings were
In this example all refers to people (like everybody) so it is treated as plural.
For many countries,
In this example, 'all' refers to things (like everything) so it is treated as singular.
Types of Indefinite Pronouns
There are different types of indefinite pronouns and each type can be used in a slightly different way. Here we review the types mentioned in the tables above; but before that, imagine a list of different items with different features; we explain each type by showing how many items in the list they include:
- Universal: universal indefinite pronouns, include every item in the list. (i.e. everybody, everything, ell)
- Negative: negative indefinite pronouns, include no item in the list. (i.e. nobody, nothing, none)
- Elective: elective indefinite pronouns (also called elective/dubitative existential), include one item in the list, no matter what the features are. (i.e. anybody, anything, any)
- Assertive: assertive indefinite pronouns (also known as Assertive existential) include one item in the list with a special feature that we do not know or mention. (i.e. somebody, something, some)
- Alternative: alternative indefinite pronouns include an item or items in the list other than a preselected one. (i.e. another, other)
- Quantifier: quantifiers include a specific amount or numbers of items in the list. (i.e. much, more, less, few)
Indefinite Pronouns in Negative Sentences
Using indefinite articles in negative sentences is a bit tricky. You are not allowed to use every pronoun in a negative sentence. The table below can help you understand these boundaries better:
Type of Pronoun | Subject | Object | Negative Maker |
---|---|---|---|
Universal | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Negative | ✗ | (only double negative) | ✓ |
Elective | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
Assertive | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Alternative | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
Quantifier | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
In this table you can see if you are allowed to use each pronoun in a negative sentence depending on their grammatical role (being the subject or object of the sentence). It means that for example, you cannot use universal indefinite pronouns (like everybody) in a negative sentence (either as the subject or object). Take a look at this example:
is happy.
This example is wrong because 'everybody' (a universal indefinite pronoun) is used in a negative sentence.
What Is a Negative Marker?
A negative marker is a word that can make a sentence negative. As you can see in the table above 'negative indefinite pronouns' are negative markers. It means that using them in a sentence can make the sentence negative (without using not). Take a look at this example:
Nobody
Here, in this example, by using 'nobody' (a negative indefinite pronoun) this sentence bears a negative meaning.
You should know that, using another negative marker in this sentence is grammatically wrong:
Nobody was there.
'Nobody' is a negative indefinite pronoun, so you must use 'was' instead of 'was not'.
Double Negation
In colloquial language sometimes negative indefinite pronouns as objects are used in already negative sentences to show emphasis. This is called a double negation:
I
'Don't' is used to show the emphasis.
How to Make Sentences Negative with an Indefinite Pronoun?
There are different ways to change a positive sentence to a negative sentence using an indefinite pronoun:
- When indefinite pronoun is the subject of the sentence:
In this case the best way is to use a negative indefinite pronoun depending on what the pronoun is referring to (a thing or person). Take a look at these example:
In this example, 'nobody' is the negative pronoun which can be used instead of 'everybody' to make the sentence negative.
As you know 'Nothing' is the best negative alternative for 'something.' Remember you use an affirmative verb for negative pronoun 'nothing.'
- When indefinite pronoun is the object of the sentence:
In this case you can either use a negative pronoun in a positive sentence or an elective pronoun in a negative sentence (both are correct and have the same meaning). Take a look at this example:
I invited
Here in this example, a universal indefinite pronoun is used in a sentence with affirmative verb, that bears an affirmative meaning.
I didn't invite
Here, a negative verbs is followed by an 'elective indefinite pronoun' which bears a negative meaning.
I invited
In this case, an affirmative verb is followed by a negative indefinite pronoun which again bears a negative meaning as the previous example.
Review
Indefinite pronouns refer to ambiguous things or people.
- Universal
- Negative
- Elective
- Assertive
- Alternative
- Quantifier
How They Are Divided into Different Groups
- Based on:
- What they refer to
- Meaning
- Type
- Number
- Following verb
Singular Indefinite Pronouns | another other each | enough little less much | either neither both | anything nothing something everything | Anybody/Anyone Nobody/No one Everybody/Everyone Somebody/Someone |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plural Indefinite Pronouns | others | many | fewer | several | few |
Singular or Plural indefinite pronouns | all/ none | any such | some | most | more |
Comments
Contents
- What Are Indefinite Pronouns?
- Referring Back to an Indefinite Pronoun
- Making Possessives
- Plural Indefinite Pronouns
- Singular/Plural Indefinite Pronouns
- Types of Indefinite Pronouns
- Indefinite Pronouns in Negative Sentences
- What Is a Negative Marker?
- How to Make Sentences Negative with an Indefinite Pronoun?