Indefinite pronouns

Level: beginner
Some of the indefinite pronouns in English are:

anybody everybody nobody somebody

anyone everyone no one someone

anything everything nothing something

We use indefinite pronouns to refer to people or things without saying exactly who or what
they are. We use pronouns ending in -body or -one for people, and pronouns ending in -
thing for things:

Everybody enjoyed the concert.

I opened the door but there was no one at home.
It was a very clear day. We could see everything.

Indefinite pronouns 1

We use a singular verb after an indefinite pronoun:

Everybody loves Sally.

Everything was ready for the party.

When we refer back to an indefinite pronoun, we normally use a plural pronoun:

Everybody enjoyed the concert. They stood up and clapped.

I will tell somebody that dinner is ready. They have been waiting a long time.

Be careful!
 Be careful!

In negative clauses, we use pronouns with no-, not pronouns with any-:
Nobody came. (NOT Anybody didn't come.)
We do not use another negative in a clause with nobody, no one or nothing:
Nobody came. (NOT Nobody didn't come.)
Nothing happened. (NOT Nothing didn't happen.)

Indefinite pronouns 2

We can add 's to an indefinite pronoun to make a possessive:

They were staying in somebody's house.

Is this anybody's coat?

We use else after indefinite pronouns to refer to other people or things:

All the family came, but no one else.

If Michael can't come, we'll ask somebody else.
I think this is somebody else's coat.

indefinite pronouns
Pronouns are words that take the place of a noun. Pronouns can do anything that a noun
can do. For example, they can be subjects or objects of a verb.

Unlike personal pronouns (e.g. he, she, they), indefinite pronouns do not refer to a
specific person or thing already named. They are indefinite words
like someone, others, several or few.

Singular indefinite pronouns

The following indefinite pronouns are always singular:

 one
 anyone, everyone, no one, someone
 anybody, everybody, nobody, somebody
 another, the other
 either, neither
 each
 little, less
 much
 Plural indefinite pronouns

The following indefinite pronouns are always plural:

 both
 few, fewer
 many
 others
 several

Indefinite pronouns that can be singular or plural

The following indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural, depending on the
context:

 all
 any
 more
 most
 none
 some

Here are some examples:

 All of the cake is gone. [singular idea, since all is referring to cake]
 All of the cupcakes are gone. [plural idea, since all is referring to cupcakes]
 None of the meat has spoiled. [singular idea, since none is referring to meat]
 None of the apples have spoiled. [plural idea, since none is referring to apples]

Possessive indefinite pronouns

Unlike personal pronouns, indefinite pronouns do not have different subject, object and
possessive forms.

However, an indefinite pronoun that refers to a person can become possessive by taking
the ending ’s:

 I found somebody’s wallet on the hiking path.

 The server brought everyone’s order except Tim’s.