Indefinite pronouns

Created @February 4, 2023 1:38 PM

Language Dutch

Level B1

Words such as

iedereen - everybody
iemand - somebody; anybody

niemand - nobody

iets - something; anything

are considered to be indefinite pronouns

The concept also borders on indefinite adverbials and numerals such as: (left column is
indefinite adverbials, and the right column is indefinite numerals)

ergens - somewhere sommige - some

nergens - nowhere iedere - each; any; every

ooit - ever enkele - a few

Indefinite pronouns 1
 nooit - never elk(e) - each; any; day

Example 1:
iedere/elke man
each-C/every-C man.C
every man

ieder/elk kind
each.N/every.N child.N
every child

Example 2 (Indefinite pronouns):

Er heeft vanmiddag iemand gebeld, raad eens wie.
Somebody called this afternoon, guess who.

Er heeft vanmiddag iemand gebeld, maar ik weet niet wie.

Somebody called this afternoon, but I don’t know who.
Is er iemand bij de vergadering geweest?
Has anybody been to the meeting

Indefinite adverbials refer to places, sometimes quantifying elements are sometimes

categorised as indefinite pronouns. There are two classes of indefinite pronouns,
collectivising, and non-collectivising.

Collectivising indefinite pronouns

ieder(e) - every; any

elk(e) - every; any

alle - all

allemaal - all of them

Non-Collectivising indefinite pronouns

enige - some

enkele - a few

ettelijke - several

genoeg - enough

Indefinite pronouns 2
 menig(e) - many a

sommige - some

verscheidene - several

verschillende - different

voldoende - sufficient

wat - a few

zat - plenty

Normally, indefinite pronouns are used attributively with a noun, but some can appear alone
when the suffix -n is added

Examples
Sommige mensen sliepen op de grond
Some people slept on the floor
Sommigen sliepen op de grond.
Some slept on the ground.

Collectivising indefinites can also occur predicatively

Examples

Ze kregen ieder een prijs

They got a prize each.

Ze kregen allemaal een zoen.

They all got a kiss

There are also sequences of elements that fulfil similar functions. Dutch lacks a specific word
for ‘somehow’ and for ‘what-/who-/which-/whenever’. These gaps are filled with multi-word
expressions. The expression X dan ook accommodates a variety of question word.

Examples:

Het gaat op de een of andere manier gebeuren

It will happen somehow

Ik ken jou beter dan wie dan ook

I know you better than anyone.

Indefinite pronouns 3
 War dan ook ter wereld
Wherever in the world.

Geen energie voor wat dan ook

No energy for whatsoever.

Indefinite pronouns 4