Indefinite Pronouns

What is an indefinite pronoun?

In case you are thinking about an indefinite pronoun, it refers to an inclusive or an unspecified pronoun in an English sentence. It does not point towards a particular person, place, or thing but in general. These types of pronouns are vague and non-definite.

It is to be noted that pronouns replace nouns in the sentence. They prevent the writer from using nouns time and again. 

 Based on their purpose, indefinite pronouns can be singular as well as plural. While singular indefinite pronouns is followed by a singular verb in the sentence, a plural verb is associated with plural indefinite pronouns.

Words that fall into the category of indefinite pronouns are everyone, everybody, much, no one, both, several, either, someone, many, etc.

The indefinite pronouns examples:

Here are some indefinite pronouns examples:

• Anyone can come to the house-welcome party
• She wants to go somewhere this winter
• Someone gave me this gift

Mentioning the usage of indefinite pronouns in different types of sentences:

Now that you know what is indefinite pronoun is, it’s time to learn about its usage in different types of sentences:

Affirmative Sentences 

In affirmative sentences, indefinite pronouns have different applications. For instance,

• Indefinite pronouns having ‘some’ are used by the writers in the affirmative sentences to describe an indefinite quantity  
• Indefinite pronouns having ‘every’ is used by the writers in the affirmative sentences to describe a complete quantity
• Indefinite pronouns having ‘no’ are used by the writers in the affirmative sentences to describe an absence
• Indefinite pronouns having ‘any’ is used by the writers in the affirmative sentences with the meaning close to every- whichever place, whichever person, etc

Examples,

• Someone is signing on the stage
• Everyone is performing on the stage
• There is nowhere beautiful as Switzerland
• He can select anything from the list

Negative Sentences

To form negative sentences, it is vital to use an indefinite pronoun including ‘any’. 

Examples, 

• He doesn’t have anything to drink
• He didn’t go anywhere last Sunday

In case you want to convert the negative sentences including an indefinite pronoun (any) into affirmative sentences with the negative meaning, then you should use an indefinite pronoun using ‘no’. However, remember that the meaning of the sentence including an indefinite pronoun “no” is completely changed. The sentence having ‘no’ becomes stronger and can signify emotional content like anger, defensiveness, etc.

Example,

• He doesn’t know anything about it. = neutral sentence
• He knows nothing about it. = defensive sentence
• She doesn’t have anyone to talk with. = neutral sentence
• She has nobody to talk with. = hopeless sentence

Negative Questions

In case you want to frame a negative question, then you can use indefinite pronouns including some, every, and any. You can use ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as your answers. 

Indefinite pronouns including ‘any’ and ‘every’ are applied to frame true questions, while usage of ‘some’ in a question implies that readers already know or suspect the answer.

Examples, 

• Is there anything to watch?
• Has he looked everywhere?

The above-mentioned questions can easily be converted into false or rhetorical questions by making them negative. The speaker when asking such questions usually expects an answer of ‘no’.

Examples, 

• Isn’t there anything to watch?
• Haven’t he looked everywhere?

Indefinite pronouns using some can be used to frame the questions the answer of which are suspected by the individuals and the speaker usually expects ‘yes’ as an answer for such questions.

Example, 

• Is he looking for someone?
• Has she lost something?

Conclusion

Indefinite pronouns can act as both singulars as well as plural pronouns in the sentences by associating with singular and plural verbs, respectively. Indefinite pronouns provide the writers and speakers a privilege of avoiding usage of exact nouns time and again by replacing them with the pronouns referring to people, places, and things in general. To create a grammatically correct and well-written English sentence it is essential to know the meanings of all indefinite pronouns.