Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are anyone, anything, anybody, anywhere, someone, something, somebody, somewhere, no one, nothing, nobody, nowhere.

They do not refer to any specific person, thing, place or amount.  We normally use –one, -body, -thing, -where to refer to people, things or places in a general way:

• Anyone could steal your purse because you left it on the table in that cafe.
• Someone is knocking at the door.
• There is no one to help us so we’ll have to manage by ourselves.
• I am looking for somewhere I can park my car.
• Hi Tara. I’d like to talk to you about something.
• I haven’t eaten anything today so I’m starving.
• Those who don’t know a foreign language know nothing about their own.

Indefinite pronouns ending in -body and -one

Indefinite pronouns ending in –body and –one mean the same thing, though –one is used in a more formal context.

• I’m sure somebody (or someone) will tell us her phone number.
• I don’t see anyone (or anybody) coming.

Note: all indefinite pronouns are written as one word except no one.

• She broke her leg because no one told her the floor was slippery.

We use else after indefinite pronouns to refer to people or things in addition to the ones we already mentioned.

• If you can’t join us we’ll ask someone else.
• In case you need anything else, give me a call.

Do the quiz to perfect your knowledge:

If you really want to learn English but don’t know how to do it and where to start, don’t hesitate to contact us. Book an online English lesson with one of our certified and experienced English teachers and take a test and consultation. Choose the most suitable app: Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, Viber or Facebook Messenger. You should certainly join us for 30-minute conversation sessions. We are organizing lessons at a 30% discount. Check it out!

Drop us a line on WhatsApp