Indefinite Pronouns
Grammar Practice
Indefinite pronouns are used when we are not referring to specific people or things or are unable to identify what we are referring to. Indefinite pronouns can be tricky to use in a sentence – how do we know which are plural or singular?
Always singular | Always plural | Singular OR plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Examples | everything, nothing, each, someone, anybody | both, several, few, many, others | most, all, any, none, some | |
In a sentence | Everything in that pile is ready for submission. | These few topics are stumping me. | Most of the book is interesting. Most of the books are interesting. | |
Tip! | Indefinite pronouns ending in or that can be followed by ‘-one’, ‘-thing’ or ‘-body’ are always paired with a singular verb. | These pronouns indicate that there are a number of countable things. Hence they are plural and are paired with a plural verb. | If the noun following the pronoun is singular or uncountable, the pronoun is considered singular. If the following noun is plural, the pronoun is plural. | |
