Study the information about indefinite pronouns.
People | Things | Places | |
some- | someone somebody | something | somewhere |
any- | anyone anybody | anything | anywhere |
no- | no one nobody | nothing | nowhere |
every- | everybody everyone | everything | everywhere |
1. You should use indefinite pronouns that 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 this performance.
He opened the door but there was no one at home.
2. Use a singular verb after an indefinite pronoun:
Everybody loves tasty dishes.
Everything was ready for the concert.
3. When we refer back to an indefinite pronoun we normally use a plural pronoun:
Everybody enjoyed the concert. They stood up and clapped.
4. You can add -'s to an indefinite pronoun to make a possessive.
They were staying in somebody’s house.
5. You must not use another negative in a clause with nobody, no one or nothing:
Nobody came in.
6. You can use elseafter indefinite pronouns to refer to people or things in addition to the ones we already mentioned.
If Sam can’t come we’ll ask somebody else.