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THIS EMPTY H2 IS TO CORRECT AN ERROR FOR THE H3 IN THE POPUP WINDOW

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Parts of Speech: 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.

There are many different types of pronouns. This article focusses on indefinite pronouns.

What is an indefinite pronoun?

Some pronouns refer to someone or something definite. For example, in the sentence John decided he would order wings, the pronoun he refers to a definite person, John, who has already been mentioned.

But indefinite pronouns do not refer to a specific person or thing already named. They are indefinite words like someone, others, several or few.

Which indefinite pronouns are singular?

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

Which indefinite pronouns are plural?

The following indefinite pronouns are always plural:

• both
• few, fewer
• many
• others
• several

Are there 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 fruit has spoiled.
  (singular idea, since none is referring to fruit)
• None of the apples have spoiled.
  (plural idea, since none is referring to apples)

Do indefinite pronouns have different forms?

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.

Note: Many indefinite pronouns can also act as indefinite adjectives:

• Many of the trees are in bloom.
  (pronoun with prepositional phrase)
• Many trees are in bloom.
  (adjective modifying trees)
• Few of the world's nations have such wealth.
  (pronoun with prepositional phrase)
• Few nations in the world have such wealth.
  (adjective modifying nations)