Ever notice how sometimes you just want to talk about any dog, not your specific pet? Or maybe you’re looking for a book – not that exact one on your wishlist, but just something good to read? That’s where indefinite nouns and pronouns come into play. And in this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about them, including how to use them in a sentence.
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What Are Indefinite Nouns?
When you talk about something in a general way—without picking out one particular thing—you’re using a noun indefinitely. This usually involves creating an indefinite noun phrase.
For example, if you say, “I’m going to a city,” you mean you’re heading to any city, not one in particular. Saying “Paris is a city” just puts Paris into the group of cities; it doesn’t change the fact that “city” is being used as a general term within that phrase.
Here are a few examples of indefinite noun phrases:
- I saw a dog on my walk!
- Do you need an umbrella?
- He was driving a car.
- I found a wallet under my chair.
- I’m looking for a cat.
How to Use Indefinite Nouns In a Sentence
You might have already noticed that you should use indefinite noun phrases with the right indefinite article. This includes “a” or “an.”
“A” goes before nouns starting with consonant sounds (“a cat”). “An” goes before those with vowel sounds (“an umbrella”).
You can obviously check the first letter of the noun, but sounding it out helps, too.
The word “hour” is a good example. Even though it starts with a consonant letter (‘h’), it starts with a vowel sound. So you wouldn’t say “a hour,” you’d say “an hour.”
Tip: If the word has a vowel sound, use ‘an’. But for a consonant sound, use ‘a.’
What Are Indefinite Pronouns?
Indefinite pronouns replace nouns or noun phrases to point to people or things in a general way, without getting specific. They can take on the role of the object or subject of a sentence.
What’s interesting is that some words that can be indefinite pronouns can also play other roles depending on how they’re used.
For instance, the word ‘some’ acts as a determiner (working like an adjective) when it describes a noun directly, as in “some cookies.” An indefinite pronoun usage would be “I baked cookies, and some are left” (where “some” replaces “some cookies”).
Also, words like “somewhere” or “anywhere” are actually indefinite adverbs, telling you where something happens, not replacing a noun.
Examples of indefinite pronouns in a sentence:
- Someone left their jacket here.
- Nobody knows the answer.
- None of these people are any help. (Note: ‘None’ can be singular or plural)
- I wish we had something to eat.
- All of this noise is making my head hurt. (Note: ‘All’ can be singular or plural)
- Someone made repairs.
- We’ve already had several conversations about this. (Here ‘several’ is a determiner modifying ‘conversations’. As a pronoun: “Several were broken.”)
- There are so many reasons she might’ve said that. (Here ‘many’ is a determiner modifying ‘reasons’. As a pronoun: “Many were invited.”)
Here’s a list of common indefinite pronouns for reference:
- Often Singular: someone, anyone, everyone, nobody, somebody, anybody, everybody, something, anything, everything, nothing, each, either, neither, one
- Often Plural: both, few, many, several
- Singular or Plural (depending on context): some, any, none, all, more, most
How to Use Indefinite Pronouns In a Sentence
In general, you’d use indefinite pronouns when the person, place, or thing is unclear or unspecified. Let’s use the jacket example above.
If you know that Tony left his jacket, you’d say “Tony” instead of “someone.” You use the indefinite pronoun “someone” because you don’t know who the jacket belongs to. You’re letting everyone know that the owner is unspecified.
Let’s review the types of indefinite pronouns and when you should use them.
Singular Indefinite Pronouns
Singular indefinite pronouns require singular verbs. For example, “Everyone is coming” is correct, while “Everyone are coming” is wrong because “everyone” is treated as singular. So, make sure the subject-verb agreement matches the pronoun you use.
Indefinite pronouns that end in -one, -thing, or -body are singular. ‘Each,’ ‘either,’ and ‘neither’ are also singular, even though they might seem to relate to multiple subjects. That’s because you’re considering them one at a time.
Plural Indefinite Pronouns
These are basically the opposite of singular indefinite pronouns because they need plural verbs. Common plural indefinite pronouns include both, few, many, and several.
So you wouldn’t say, “Both is coming.” You’d say, “Both are coming.” Again, the subject-verb agreement rule applies here.
Tip: Pronouns like ‘some,’ ‘all,’ ‘any,’ ‘none,’ ‘more,’ and ‘most’ can be singular or plural depending on the noun they refer to in the context, often in a prepositional phrase that follows them. E.g., “Some of the cake is gone” vs. “Some of the cookies are gone.”)
In Negative Statements
Using double negatives is a common mistake with indefinite pronouns. Based on a misunderstanding, “I don’t need nothing” might seem “fine.” But grammatically, it creates confusion (implying you do need something).
Instead, use an “any-” pronoun with the negative verb: “I don’t need anything.” Or, use a “no-” pronoun with a positive verb: “I need nothing.”
In Questions
Saying “Anyone is there?” isn’t standard question structure in English. You’ll likely get confused looks. Switch the subject and verb around to form questions correctly with indefinite pronouns.
In this case, you’d say, “Is anyone there?” This makes your question much easier to understand and follows standard English grammar.
You’ll often use pronouns starting with “any-” or “some-” in questions. Good examples would be “Do you need someone?” or “Would you like something?“
Final Thoughts
And there you have it! Indefinite nouns and indefinite pronouns are all about substituting words when you’re talking about non-specific things or people. Just remember your basic rules about matching articles and verbs and you can start incorporating them in your conversations and sentences.
