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- Dictionaryindefinite pronoun
noun
- 1. a pronoun that does not refer to any person, amount, or thing in particular, e.g. anything, something, anyone, everyone.
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Aug 24, 2023 · An indefinite pronoun refers to a general, vague, or unknown person, object, group, or amount. Most of the time, the referred-to object is identified elsewhere in the sentence or doesn’t need to be precisely identified. I’ve had one piece of pie, and I’d like another.
- List of Singular and Plural Indefinite Pronouns
- How Are Indefinite Pronouns Used in Sentences?
- Indefinite Pronouns in Negative Statements
- Indefinite Pronouns in Questions
- Indefinite Pronouns vs. Determiners
- Avoiding Gender Bias with Indefinite Pronouns
- The Impersonal Pronoun “One”
Many indefinite pronouns (e.g., “everyone”) are singular even though they seem to refer to multiple people or things. For proper subject-verb agreement, it’s important to remember which pronouns are followed by a singular verbform (e.g., “is”) and which by a plural one (e.g., “are”). The largest group of indefinite pronouns, including all the any-/...
Indefinite pronouns can be used in the subject or object position in a sentence (e.g., “Someone is calling” vs. “He’s calling someone”). Unlike personal pronouns, indefinite pronouns take the same form regardless of whether they are subjects or objects. Unlike most other pronouns, indefinite pronouns can be modified by adjectives, which are placed ...
Be careful how you use indefinite pronouns in negative statements (i.e., sentences using the adverb “not”). Using them incorrectly can create double negatives (which say the opposite of what you mean them to say) or other ambiguities. Sentences with “not” normally use a pronoun including the prefix any- or every-. Pronouns with some- or no- should ...
Which indefinite pronoun you use to pose a yes-or-no question has a big impact on the meaning of the question. 1. Using an any- or every-word suggests you are asking a sincere question you don’t know the answer to. 2. Using a some- word makes the question more rhetorical and suggests you already suspect the answer is “yes.”
Many words that function as indefinite pronouns can also be used as determiners. The difference is that: 1. Pronounsare used to replace nouns, meaning that they stand on their own 2. Determinersare used to modify nouns, so they appear before a noun
Indefinite pronouns such as “each” and “everyone” are often used to make general statements that could apply to anyone. When such a statement involves a personal pronoun or possessive determiner, there’s a risk of gender bias. For example, in the traditional saying “To each his own,” the masculine possessive determiner “his” is used to refer back t...
The impersonal pronoun one can also be regarded as a type of indefinite pronoun. It’s used similarly to the personal pronouns and, like them, has a reflexive pronoun form, oneself. Impersonal pronouns are used to make generalizations about all people and how they do or should behave (e.g., “One never knows what the future holds”). They are regarded...
An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that refers to a person or a thing without being specific. The most common indefinite pronouns are anyone, anything, each, everybody, everyone, everything, no one, nobody, none, somebody, and someone.
Somebody, anyone, everything, etc. are indefinite pronouns. We use -body, -one, -thing, -where to refer to people, places and things in a general way. We write them as one single word, apart from no one, which can be written as two separate words or with a hyphen (no-one).
We use indefinite pronouns to refer to people or things without saying exactly who or what they are. We use pronouns ending in -body or -one for people, and pronouns ending in - thing for things: Everybody enjoyed the concert.
Mar 10, 2024 · Indefinite pronouns are a type of pronoun that are intentionally vague and general, allowing for discussions without specifying exact details. These pronouns are used when writers do not intend to write about any specific noun but instead intend to write about an unspecified noun.
Apr 23, 2019 · Indefinite Pronoun Definition & Rules. These pronouns are used to show unspecified objects or people, whether in plural or in singular. They are used to indicate the entire noun or some of the noun or none of the noun.
