Have you struggled while talking to someone and don’t know how to mention them without being specific? Then, you lack the knowledge of using an indefinite pronoun. Yes, because understanding these pronouns can help you to indicate people or things without mentioning them.
However, many people find learning indefinite pronouns tricky and complicated. But it’s a myth. Then, what exactly do you need to learn about these pronouns? You can find your answer in this blog, which includes the meaning, examples, and uses of indefinite pronouns. Read on!
Table of Contents
You can use indefinite pronouns when you don’t want to mention the specific name of the person or thing to which you are referring. You can see the indefinite pronoun definition below to know about this pronoun in a better way.
The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary describes it as “a pronoun that does not refer to any person or thing in particular, for example, ‘anything’ and ‘everyone.” On the other hand, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defined it as “a pronoun that does not refer to a specific person or thing.”
However, both definitions indicate that indefinite pronouns help us to mention things or people without mentioning exactly what or who they are. Now, before moving to examples, you should know about the types of indefinite pronouns. It is because knowing different types will help you evade confusion and choose the right verb. Thus, read on to discover a list of various indefinite pronouns.
By now, you have discovered that this pronoun is used to mention non-specific places, individuals, ideas and things. Now, do you know how this list helps? The answer is they help to clarify the purpose of these pronouns and how to use them in different grammatical contexts.
Here’s the detailed information regarding types of indefinite pronouns:
Words such as everyone, somebody, each, neither and anyone that are used to mention ordinary and singular things or people are known as singular indefinite pronouns. They are used for replacing singular pronouns and verbs, although they may look to mention several entities.
Plural indefinite pronouns denote a group of things or people instead of a specific individual or single object. These pronouns help avoid repetition of noun and allow us to express plural things. A few examples of plural indefinite pronouns include many, several, few, others and both.
Besides, singular and plural pronouns, there are some other words that can be used to denote both singular and plural pronouns according to the circumstances. These pronouns can be placed on either plural or singular verbs based on sentence context. These words include all, more, some and none.
Now, this information lacks crucial things, which are examples. Now, you must be assuming why examples are vital. It is because they determine how to apply the rules correctly in practice. Hence, read on to get a clear understanding of indefinite pronouns by reading the examples that are mentioned below.
The indefinite pronouns are further categorized into three types, namely singular, plural and indefinite pronouns, which act as both plural and singular pronouns. See the example of indefinite pronoun to know how you can use them within your sentences.
1. Another – It used to refer to an additional entity of a similar thing, which was mentioned before. For instance:
2. Little- It mentions a small quantity or amount of something without stating exactly what it is. For example:
3. Everyone- It is a singular indefinite and refers to all individuals of a group without mentioning what or who they are exclusively. It is used in personal indefinite sentences. For example:
4. Something- This pronoun shows a common thing or ordinary object. For instance:
5. Nobody- It is used to indicate the lack or absence of any person and shows that no one was present or involved in a specific action. Such as:
1. Many - It shows a large number or quantity of things or people in a common and non-specific way. For example:
2. Several- This plural indefinite pronoun mentions more than a single person, thing or place. For example:
3. Both- You can use this to indicate two people or things with something in common. Such as:
4. Few- It is considered a plural indefinite pronoun and shows a small number of things and several people without mentioning specific details. For example:
Others- It is used to refer to an imprecise group of things or people without mentioning what or who they exactly are. For example:
1. All – You can use all to denote the total number or amount of items without clearly mentioning them. For instance:
2. None – It is used to indicate not any or not one in the ordinary sense, frequently used for plural nouns. For instance:
3. Some – It is used to indicate a vague or inexact number of objects and it can be used for both singular and plural indefinite pronouns. For example:
4. Any – It is used to show more than one quantity of something or to indicate a non-specific amount of individuals. For instance:
5. Most – This indefinite pronoun can be either plural or singular according to the context. Additionally, it refers to the collection of things or groups of people. For example:
You have read the examples to get an idea of how to use indefinite pronouns. However, will it help to frame correct grammatical sentences? No, it will not. Hence, you should check out the rules of indefinite pronouns given below to know how to frame the right sentence structure.
After reading the above details, you know that indefinite pronouns are used to show unspecified things, places and people. Further, it enables you to be specific about a particular subject. But do you know how it works? Read the stepwise guide below to understand how you can use indefinite pronouns.
The first step is to identify the correct indefinite pronoun. It is crucial because you need to be specific about which indefinite pronoun should be placed before a thing or a person. Some of them are mentioned below:
Another step includes finding a noun phrase so that you can replace it with an indefinite pronoun without specifically mentioning it. For example, you can use someone to replace a person, which is a noun phrase. Moreover, you can use something to denote a thing without mentioning any specific detail about that thing.
Indefinite pronouns typically need a singular verb, although they denote plural nouns. Now, let's see an example to understand this precisely.
In the above sentence, the "is" verb is placed with the 'everyone" indefinite pronoun. It indicates you must use a singular verb while using the indefinite pronoun.
Another important rule of indefinite pronouns is when you refer back to a specific indefinite pronoun; you should add a plural pronoun. See the example below to know how exactly you should follow this rule.
In this sentence, the plural pronoun "they" is used to discuss "everyone". It helps to enhance clarity within the sentence.
You can use indefinite pronouns to show possession as well by putting an apostrophe and "s". See the example below to understand how indefinite pronouns can act as possessive cases.
In the above sentence, "s" is placed with someone to ask if someone owns this umbrella. Also, making the indefinite a possessive.
The rule for using this pronoun in negative sentences is different from that for positive sentences. Hence, you should use "any" instead of "some" to form negative phrases. For example:
In this sentence, anyone is used to show a negative sentence to frame a grammatically correct sentence.
Now that you have understood what is indefinite pronoun and how you can use them, let's test your knowledge with exercises. Below are two worksheets that can help you check your knowledge about indefinite pronouns. Check them out.
Until now, you have learned about the meanings of indefinite pronouns and examples and how to use them within various grammatical contexts. So, let’s check your understanding by solving the indefinite pronoun worksheet given below. It will help you know how much you have identified about using these pronouns.
Questions – In this exercise, you need to fill in the blanks with the correct indefinite pronouns.
Answers
Fill in the blanks by selecting the right options that fit appropriately within the sentences.
1. He wants to stay _____ by the ocean.
a) Somewhere
b) Anyone
c) No one
d) Some
2. Does ____ have a red pen?
a) Nobody
b) Everyone
c) Few
d) Anybody
3. Is there ____ on the terrace?
a) Others
b) Anyone
c) Everywhere
d) No one
4. I know _____ in this industry.
a) Somebody
b) Everybody
c) Nobody
d) Anyone
5. I want _____ would fix the mess.
a) Everywhere
b) Anyone
c) Somebody
d) Others
6. _______ came to the office earlier.
a) Everyone
b) Everywhere
c) No one
d) Somebody
7. He put _______ in the black box.
a) Nothing
b) Everything
c) Something
d) Everyone
8. Did you go _____ in the summer vacation?
a) Anywhere
b) everywhere
c) Others
d) Someone
9. He loves _______. He is a very kind person.
a) No one
b) Nobody
c) Everybody
d) Others
10. _____ rare happened. It was a normal day.
a) Nothing
b) No one
c) Everyone
d) Others
Answers
In a nutshell, indefinite pronoun enables you to refer to things and places without specifically mentioning them. Moreover, it offers generalization and flexibility in writing, enabling the writer to mention non-specific people or things. However, people may find it tricky because they lack information about which pronoun should used with a place, thing or an individual.
Hence, this blog explained the basics of using indefinite pronouns. However, if you still struggle to understand how to use them correctly, connect with Gradding.com. Our experts can make learning easy through a tailored approach to meet your specific learning demands.
The pronouns used to replace nouns without mentioning which specific place, thing or person they are referring to are known as indefinite pronouns.
Indefinite pronouns can work as objects, subjects or possessives. Hence, you can use them based on the sentence requirement.
You can use pronouns that include "no", such as nothing or nobody in the negative phrases.
Yes, indefinite pronouns can be possessive. You must add apostrophes and s to make them possessive, such as "it's somebody's pen".
A few examples of indefinite pronouns are:
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