Before we actually delve into indefinite pronouns, let us solve a mini-exercise.
Read the following sentences and identify the correct word from the two options provided:
- Everybody loves/loves Richard.
- Everyone is/are happy.
- Everyone brought his/their phone.
Sentence 1: In the first case, ‘everybody’ (indefinite ‘singular’ pronoun) uses a singular verb. i.e. loves, which is the correct way to use ‘everybody’.
Sentence 2: Use the singular verb ‘is’.
Sentence 3: ‘his’ or ‘her’ needs to be used with ‘everyone’.
What is an indefinite pronoun?
An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that refers to non-specific beings, objects, or places.
Examples of indefinite pronouns: all, any, both, each, every, few, many, neither, nobody, and none. They are indefinite pronouns as they do not refer to a specific, definite person.
Indefinite pronouns can be divided into three categories based on whether they take a singular or plural verb:
- Always singular: anyone, everyone, someone, someone, anybody, somebody, nobody, each, one, either, and neither.
- Always plural: both, few, many, others, and several.
- Singular and plural both (depending upon usage): all, any, more, most, and some.
For the third category, you need to identify whether the subject is singular or not. In the case of a singular subject, use a singular verb else use a plural verb.
For example:
- Some of the money is needed by Ram.
- Some of the children are creating a raucous.
In the first case, ‘money’ is an uncountable noun, and thus is singular in nature. We need to use ‘is’ in this sentence. In the second case, ‘children’ is a countable plural noun, and thus we use ‘are’ in this sentence.
Keep these simple rules in mind, next time you see an ‘indefinite pronoun’.
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