Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns have general rather than specific antecedents, which
means that they refer to general entities or concepts, as in sentence 17:
17.Everyonewas late.The indefinite pronouneveryonedoes not refer to any specific individual but
rather to the entire group, which gives it its indefinite status.
Indefinite Pronouns in English
all any anybody
anything anyone another
both each every
everybody every everything
either few fewer
many neither nobody
no one none one
several some somebody
somethingUsage NoteEnglish requires agreement in number for nouns, verbs, and pronouns. For
example, a plural noun subject must have a verb in the predicate that also des-
ignates plurality. Thus, we haveDogs barkbut notDogs barks.Likewise, if
Fritz and Fred are getting cleaned up, we haveFritz and Fred washed their
facesbut notFritz and Fred washed his face. We cannot understandFritz and
Fred washed his faceas meaning that the two men washed their own faces,
only that they washed someone other than themselves. To indicate the first
meaning, the pronountheirmust be plural to includeFritz and Fred,and the
nounfacesalso must be plural.
With respect to the indefinite pronounseveryoneandeverybody,aprob-
lem arises. These pronouns are singular, not plural. Nevertheless, their se-
mantic content is inclusive, indicating a group. Consequently, most people
when speaking treat the pronouns as though they are plural, as in the follow-
ing sentence:
- ?Everybody grabbed their hats and went outside.
TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR 67