Some students agonize for days over their essays as they proofread their papers, attempting to make them as perfect as possible. These students know that every little detail counts. Some instructors expect perfection, and many students try to deliver.
Some students, though, don't always understand how to work with indefinite pronouns, and sometimes just not knowing if they have to treat indefinite pronouns as singular or plural can make proofreading their essay take longer than it should. Here's a quick guide to what indefinite pronouns are and how to work with them.
What is an Indefinite Pronoun?
An indefinite pronoun is one that does not name a specific person, people, or things (unlike pronouns such as he, she, or they). Common indefinite pronouns include the following:
- Any
- Anyone (or anybody)
- Anything
- Each
- Everyone (or everybody)
- Everything
- No one
- Nobody
- None
- Nothing
- Some
- Someone (or somebody)
- Something
While there are other indefinite pronouns, these are some of the most common that are used.
Are These Indefinite Pronouns Singular or Plural?
Working with indefinite pronouns can be confusing, because more often than not, these pronouns appear to refer to groups (and they usually do), and so it seems that they should be plural. However, the pronouns here are singular. This means ultimately that the subject (the pronoun) and the verb must agree. Therefore, these sentences might appear to be correct, but they are not:
- Anybody go first.
- Each of the students have received a meal of hamburger and fries at a discount.
- Nobody who completed the test questions were disappointed with the final grades.
Even though most of these pronouns refer to groups of people, they are considered to be singular. Therefore, the sentences above need to be rewritten so that the subject and verb agree:
- Anybody goes first.
- Each of the students has received a meal of hamburger and fries at a discount.
- Nobody who completed the test questions was disappointed with the final grades.
Sometimes it helps the student to substitute a singular pronoun in the place of the indefinite pronoun. In the case of the first sentence, if the student replaces anybody with the pronoun she, it may be more apparent that the first time is incorrect (the student could write "She go first" and realize it's wrong and should be changed to "She goes first").
Other times, it helps to remove the prepositional phrase (as in the second sentence). If the student disregards the prepositional phrase of the students, the correct verb might seem more apparent (the student could write "Each have received" and realize that it should be changed to "Each has received").
Finally, it can also help to remove a subordinate clause that separates the subject from its verb. In the case of the last sentence, if the student removes the clause who completed the test questions, the correct subject-verb agreement might seem more obvious ("Nobody were disappointed" sounds wrong, while "Nobody was disappointed" sounds correct).
Most Indefinite Pronouns, Such as Everybody, are Singular
Sometimes a student just has to remind himself that these indefinite pronouns are singular. While each might seem naturally singular, other indefinite pronouns - such as everybody - might appear to be plural. Just being aware that these pronouns are singular will oftentimes help students catch errors in their essays. Many times it helps to look at just the subject and verb by themselves, as in some of the examples above. Students aiming for perfection will want to check their essays to be sure they've used a singular verb in relation to indefinite pronouns.
Cynthia Jones-Shoeman - Cynthia (“Cindy”) Jones-Shoeman earned her MA in English from Colorado State University in 2007; her thesis was "Toni ...
