In English, indefinite pronouns are that don’t refer to any specific person or thing, but rather refer to a person, place, thing, idea, or group “in general.” Compare:
- I asked Lily if she baked cookies.In this example, the personal pronoun she is replacing a specific person: Lily.
- I asked Lily if someone baked cookies.In this example, the indefinite pronoun someone refers to a person, but besides that we have no other information to identify who they might be talking about.
In this post, we’ll discuss common indefinite pronouns (such as something, anyone, everywhere, all, some, little, many, and several), indefinite pronouns that are formed by combining two different words (like nothing (no + thing) or somebody (some + body)), how to use indefinite pronouns, and singular vs. plural indefinite pronouns.
If you’re ready to be an indefinite pronoun pro, read on!
What are indefinite pronouns?
Indefinite pronouns, like all pronouns, are words that are used like a in the sentence (as a subject, object, etc.). But unlike other kinds of pronouns, indefinite pronouns refer to a nonspecific noun. For example:
All indefinite pronouns provide a little information about the quantity, amount, or percentage of a group or substance that is being discussed. This is why indefinite pronouns are sometimes called quantifying pronouns. For example:
- I wanted a cookie, but there were none left.none = 0
- Most of the cake was gone.most = >50%
- I could only see some of the students.some = more than 0, less than 100%
Some indefinite pronouns are used only for people or only for non-people:
- Everyone is welcome to attend the open house.everyone = 100% (of people)
- Something made a noise outside...something = one (for non-people)
There are many different indefinite pronouns in English. In this post, we’ll cover some of the most common ones that you encounter every day.
How do indefinite pronouns show quantity?
Though most indefinite pronouns refer to the quantity of the noun they replace, that quantity is not always exact. For example:
Some indefinite pronouns say you’re talking about the whole group or amount:
all, both, each
everyone, everything, everybody
Some indefinite pronouns say you’re talking about a general or nonspecific amount. Some represent larger quantities while some represent smaller quantities:
enough, much, few, fewer, less, little, many, more, most, others, plenty, several, some, any
anything, anyone, anybody
Some indefinite pronouns tell us you’re talking about a specific amount:
One: one, either, someone, somebody, something,
More: cardinal numbers (two, five, three hundred ...)
Some indefinite pronouns say you’re talking about zero:
neither, none
no one, nobody, nothing
These pronouns that represent zero are also called negative pronouns.
How to use indefinite pronouns in English?
Since indefinite pronouns are used to replace nouns, you can use them in the same place a noun is used, such as the or :
- My dog had puppies. All are black.
- We adopted all of the puppies.
In English, indefinite pronouns fall into two main categories, depending on how much information they provide about the type of noun they are replacing:
Indefinite pronouns that need context (e.g. all, some, none, a few, ...)
These give you no information about the type of noun in the group, so that information needs to be provided elsewhere in the sentence.
Indefinite pronouns that don’t need context (e.g. someone, anything, nobody)
These carry information about the type of noun in the group (people, objects, etc.), so that information does not need to be provided elsewhere in the sentence.
Let’s look at each different kind of indefinite pronoun below!
Indefinite pronouns that need context
Most of the usual indefinite pronouns that we see and use every day require some context to determine what kind of nouns they’re describing the quantity of. This includes indefinite pronouns like most, any, some, both, either, and more
.
Usually we introduce this “context” by using a with of right after the indefinite pronoun:
- Most of the puppies are girls.
- Neither of my coworkers came to work today.
- One of the kids broke the window.
The noun at the end of this prepositional phrase must be specific, so it usually starts with the, a possessive adjective, or a demonstrative adjective:
- ✅ We ate most of the cake.
- ✅ We ate most of our cake.
- ✅ We ate most of this cake.
- ❌ We ate most of cake.
Or, you can follow of with an :
- What’s this spot? I was making coffee and some of it spilled.
- I brought you some tomatoes from my garden. I have plenty of them.
- Carter finished his cookies, but his sister still had some, so he took one of hers.
However, if the situation or previous conversation makes it clear, you can leave out the of-phrase:
- … Do you want some?
- … Do you want any?
- … Do you want a little?
- … Do you want a bit?
Indefinite pronouns that don’t need context
A few indefinite pronouns do not need context because their meaning carries more information about the type of noun they represent. These indefinite pronouns are made from combining words together, like something (some + thing), anybody (any + body), or no one (no + one). These indefinite pronouns do not require context, because the second part of the pronoun tells you what kind of noun they describe.
The indefinite pronouns that are made out of two different words are illustrated below:
| Meaning | -body | -one | -thing | -where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Used for people (informal) | Used for people | Used for non-humans | Used for places | |
every- 100% of a group | everybody | everyone | everything | everywhere |
any- a general quantity more than zero; | anybody | anyone | anything | anywhere |
no- zero | nobody | no one | nothing | nowhere |
some- one | somebody | someone | something | somewhere |
Let’s look at a couple examples!
- Everyone needs to show their ticket before boarding.100% of people
- Is anybody home?more than 0 people
- You can go anywhere you want for vacation!1 place chosen at random
- Nothing came in the mail today.0 things
- Something in the fridge smells bad. It’s time to clean it out.1 thing
Unlike the indefinite pronouns we discussed above, you don’t need an antecedent or an of phrase with these pronouns.
In fact, the indefinite pronouns in this group cannot be followed by an of phrase:
So if you do want to add some extra information, do it in another kind of descriptive phrases:
- The company is looking for someone who can speak Spanish.This indefinite pronoun is followed by a dependent clause.
- Do you know anybody tall?This indefinite pronoun is followed by an adjective.
- We’re bored and can’t find anything to do.This indefinite pronoun is followed by an infinitive.
Singular vs. plural indefinite pronouns
Some indefinite pronouns are , some are , and some can be either singular or plural based on the context! Let’s check out each kind of pronoun below!
Singular indefinite pronouns
These pronouns are usually used as singular, so when they are used as a subject, they take a singular :
- anybody
- no one
- either
- anyone
- nothing
- enough
- anything
- somebody
- little
- everybody
- someone
- much
- everyone
- something
- neither
- everything
- another
- one
- nobody
- each
- Nobody is listening.
- Everyone takes the driver’s license test.
- I have three dogs and one likes to play fetch.
- I don’t care, either is fine.
- We have two televisions, but neither works right now.
Remember that even if the pronoun is followed by of + plural noun, the pronoun is still singular:
- Each of the kids takes a turn on the swings.
- Another of my coworkers is quitting.
- Neither of my cats likes getting a bath.
- I don’t care, either is fine.
- We have two televisions, but neither works right now.
Plural indefinite pronouns
These pronouns are plural, so they take a plural verb:
- both
- few
- fewer
- many
- others
- several
... and numbers greater than one.
For example:
- I just finished reading the second book in that series. Both are really good!
- Many know how to drive a manual car.
- The players are really good. Several have scored a goal already.
- Few kids who want to become astronauts make it into training, but fewer actually become astronauts.
Singular or plural indefinite pronouns
These pronouns can be either singular or plural, depending on if they’re referring to a or a :
- all
- any
- more
- most
- none
- some
When they refer to a count noun, they are plural:
- All of the presenters were interesting!
- Most of the students need help.
- Some of the dogs have accidents inside the house.
But when they refer to a mass noun, they are singular:
- All of the cake was eaten.
- Most of the class needs help with this activity.
- Some of the wood is rotten.
Summary
In this post, we talked all about indefinite pronouns, but let’s do a quick summary to remember all the things you’ve learned:
Indefinite pronouns don’t refer to any one person or thing in particular.
Some common indefinite pronouns are some, several, all, either, and many more.
Some indefinite pronouns can be made from combining every-, any- no-, and some- with -body, -one, -thing, or -where.
Indefinite pronouns that need context can be followed by of prepositional phrases.
Indefinite pronouns that don’t need context can be followed by descriptive phrases.
Some indefinite pronouns are singular, some are plural, and some can be singular or plural depending on the context.
If you’re feeling more confident about using indefinite pronouns, check out our English indefinite pronoun activities to really show off your knowledge!
