Anybody, somebody, nobody, everybody, no one, somewhere, nowhere, anywhere, everywhere, everything. Do you recognize any of these words? Do you know what they are called or how you can apply them correctly according to the context? You can find the answers to these questions in this lesson… pay attention!
The words above are a few of the many indefinite pronouns in English. These types of pronouns are used to refer to unspecific people, things, animals or places. To truly understand how to use them, there are a few specific points you need to be aware of, but for now, let's start by listening to the definition of indefinite pronouns.
There is a wide variety of indefinite pronouns. Some of them have a positive meaning, others have a negative meaning and there are others that refer to all the elements in a group.
These are the ones used for people:
Note: It is important for you to know that indefinite pronouns are always used when speaking in the third person, and that they are used with verbs in singular form.
Look at the following sentences to understand the points previously mentioned.
Just like the previous indefinite pronouns, there are others that are used specifically to talk about things and places. Look at the examples below to see what these are.
To refer to things
To review more about this topic, click on the arrow below.
Complete the following reading activity to put into practice what you have learned.
Instructions: Read the sentences to answer the exercise correctly. Analyze the information to choose the appropriate indefinite pronoun in each case.
Now that you've tested your knowledge about pronouns, continue the lesson and learn about other very useful type of indefinite pronoun.
When speaking or writing, people tend to repeat certain words, or more specifically, nouns (like names of people, places or animals). However, this pronoun can help you sound less repetitive when you speak or when you write.
This pronoun is used in a slightly different way, than the previous indefinite pronouns, because it must be preceded by a noun. To make this clear, please watch the following video:
Indefinite Pronoun: One/Ones – Examples
Keep in mind that one and ones cannot be used directly after a number or a quantifier (like some, any and a lot of). Therefore, in these cases repetitions are not incorrect, as in the following examples:
It took me only 20 minutes to answer the test, but Roger took 45 minutes.
My mom already has a lot of shoes, and she doesn't need any more shoes.
Now test what you’ve learned with the following writing activity.
Instructions: Complete the activity by writing one or ones, depending on the case.
Indefinite and question pronouns are closely related, in fact, they can be joined to create indefinite relative pronouns.
When you combine wh- words with the suffix -ever, they stop being questions to acquire a meaning similar to it doesn't matter or no matter. You can find an example of this in the table below:
As you can see, indefinite relative pronouns are not difficult to use, especially since they don't need to have an antecedent noun in a sentence (like with one / ones), but you have to pay attention to their meaning to be sure you are using them correctly.
Click on the button below to learn more about wh- words with the suffix -ever, including their meaning and some examples, that you can use as a reference to keep practicing with pronouns.
Now is your turn to put into practice your listening skills.
Instructions: Listen carefully to the following audio and write down all the indefinite pronouns you can hear.
When you are done, you can check your answers by clicking on the button.
To conclude these activities, practice your English speaking skills.
Instructions: Repeat and record some phrases from the audio you heard before. Pay attention to your pronunciation.
In summary, in this lesson you learned about different types of indefinite pronouns and how to use them as a tool to refer to unspecific people, things, animals or places; also, that these words help you avoid repetition while writing or speaking. Learning the different types of pronouns is a great way to expand your knowledge and vocabulary in English.
To end this lesson, test what you have learned by answering a short quiz.
Instructions: Click on the button and answer the quiz about indefinite pronouns.
