We know a pronoun can replace a noun in a sentence. The noun that gets replaced is called the antecedent.
Indefinite pronouns also replace nouns, but an indefinite pronoun does not replace a specific noun. The word indefinite means “not clearly expressed.” An indefinite pronoun replaces an unknown noun. That’s why we label it indefinite.
Here are some of the indefinite pronouns:
one, anyone, everyone, someone, no one
anybody, everybody, somebody, nobody
anything, everything, nothing
each, either, neither
Sentence examples using indefinite pronouns:
Is anyone home?
There is nobody here.
Can someone help me?
I hope everybody can find a place to sit.
In each of these sentences, the indefinite pronoun takes the place of a person’s name. Because we don’t know the exact name, we use an indefinite pronoun.
More sentence examples:
I have nothing to do.
I did everything yesterday.
Did either of you open this window?
I gave a treat to each of the children.
Notice that all of these indefinite pronouns are singular. Each word replaces a singular noun.
Here are some plural indefinite pronouns: both, few, many, other
Use these indefinite pronouns when you don’t know exactly which noun you are replacing, but you know that you are replacing a plural noun.
Sentence examples with plural indefinite pronouns:
I read two books last week. I took both back to the library.
Some men ride motorcycles. Most wear helmets.
Use an indefinite pronoun when the antecedent noun is ” not clearly expressed.” We use these indefinite pronouns often. Now you understand that the pronoun is actually taking the place of a noun in the sentence.