Indefinite pronouns refer to non-specific people or things. They include everyone, someone, anyone, no one, everything, something, anywhere, and nothing. Getting their grammar right — especially subject-verb agreement — is essential for fluent English.
3 subtopics — pick one to start practising
Indefinite Pronouns for People
Use everyone/everybody, someone/somebody, anyone/anybody, and no one/nobody to refer to unspecified people. They all take a singular verb, even though they feel plural. "Everyone is here." — not "Everyone are here." In informal English, we often use "they" as a singular pronoun after these words.
Indefinite Pronouns for Things & Places
For things, use everything, something, anything, and nothing. For places, use everywhere, somewhere, anywhere, and nowhere. The same rule applies — these all take singular verbs. "Everything is fine." "There's nowhere to sit." Notice that "nothing" and "nowhere" already make the sentence negative, so you should not add "not".
Avoiding Double Negatives
In standard English, you must not use two negatives in the same clause. Do not say "I don't know nothing" — say "I don't know anything" OR "I know nothing." The mistake of using two negatives (double negative) is understood in informal speech but considered incorrect in written or formal English.