There Is Something Strange about Indefinite Pronouns
2020-10-16
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1Today on Everyday Grammar, our subject is indefinite pronouns.
2The pronouns we will consider today end with words such as "thing," "body," and "one."
3Think about words such as nothing, something, everyone, and anybody.
4They are sometimes called expanded indefinite pronouns.
5Such pronouns are unusual and can be very interesting, as we will see.
6Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns.
7Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things that are unknown or unclear.
8First, let's talk about how we arrive at expanded indefinite pronouns.
9In English, a few short and fairly common words have the ability to expand or grow.
10Take, for example, words such as every, any, no, and some.
11We can expand them by adding another word, such as body, thing, and one, to the ending.
12Unlike most nouns, expanded indefinite pronouns can be modified by a single adjective.
13What is unusual about that, you ask?
14The adjective can, in some cases, come after the pronoun.
15Consider this example:
16I think that something strange is happening here.
17In this sentence, the word something is the subject of a clause.
18The adjective strange comes after it.
19In general, sentences have adjectives that come before nouns or after a linking verb, as in:
20He is a strange man.
21That man seems strange.
22Another unusual thing about these expanded indefinite pronouns is that when they show possession, they need an apostrophe followed by the letter "s."
23Yet other pronouns that show possession, such as mine or his, do not have an apostrophe + "s."
24Consider these examples:
25Somebody's phone is on the chair.
26Everyone's concerns were ignored!
27When expanded indefinite pronouns are the subject of the sentence, English speakers treat them as singular in terms of the verb - even if the pronouns refer to many people.
28For example, an English speaker might invite a group of people to dinner by saying:
29Everybody is invited to dinner.
30Here, everybody clearly means many people. But because it is the sentence subject, the verb is singular.
31After our fictional dinner invitation, a person might say:
32Everyone plans to be there!
33But here is where things get a little strange.
34When the expanded indefinite pronoun is not the subject of the sentence, English speakers often use the pronoun they.
35This makes sense since everybody or everyone generally means several people.
36Consider this:
37After everyone arrived for dinner, they played a football game.
38But, because there are questions about the meaning of these indefinite pronouns, English speakers also use they when talking about one person.
39Consider this example:
40Someone sent me a text message yesterday, but they didn't say their name. I didn't write back to them.
41The reason the English speaker used they is because the pronoun someone is not clear.
42It gives no information about the person's sex.
43It could be a man or a woman.
44Since gender is unclear, English speakers use the term they as a kind of gender-neutral pronoun.
45When you read books written in English or watch American television shows, pay attention to how native speakers use the group of indefinite pronouns that we talked about today.
46Listen for subject-verb agreement.
47Ask yourself about what the indefinite pronoun is doing in the sentence.
48Consider why the speaker used an indefinite pronoun instead of another pronoun.
49These questions may be difficult.
50But remember this: With hard work, anything is possible.
51I'm Ashley Thompson.
52And I'm John Russell.
1Today on Everyday Grammar, our subject is indefinite pronouns. The pronouns we will consider today end with words such as "thing," "body," and "one." 2Think about words such as nothing, something, everyone, and anybody. They are sometimes called expanded indefinite pronouns. Such pronouns are unusual and can be very interesting, as we will see. 3Pronouns 4Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things that are unknown or unclear. 5First, let's talk about how we arrive at expanded indefinite pronouns. In English, a few short and fairly common words have the ability to expand or grow. Take, for example, words such as every, any, no, and some. We can expand them by adding another word, such as body, thing, and one, to the ending. 6Unusual things 7Unlike most nouns, expanded indefinite pronouns can be modified by a single adjective. What is unusual about that, you ask? The adjective can, in some cases, come after the pronoun. 8Consider this example: 9I think that something strange is happening here. 10In this sentence, the word something is the subject of a clause. The adjective strange comes after it. 11In general, sentences have adjectives that come before nouns or after a linking verb, as in: 12He is a strange man. 13That man seems strange. 14Another unusual thing about these expanded indefinite pronouns is that when they show possession, they need an apostrophe followed by the letter "s." Yet other pronouns that show possession, such as mine or his, do not have an apostrophe + "s." 15Consider these examples: 16Somebody's phone is on the chair. 17Everyone's concerns were ignored! 18When expanded indefinite pronouns are the subject of the sentence, English speakers treat them as singular in terms of the verb - even if the pronouns refer to many people. 19For example, an English speaker might invite a group of people to dinner by saying: 20Everybody is invited to dinner. 21Here, everybody clearly means many people. But because it is the sentence subject, the verb is singular. 22After our fictional dinner invitation, a person might say: 23Everyone plans to be there! 24Very unusual 25But here is where things get a little strange. When the expanded indefinite pronoun is not the subject of the sentence, English speakers often use the pronoun they. This makes sense since everybody or everyone generally means several people. Consider this: 26After everyone arrived for dinner, they played a football game. 27But, because there are questions about the meaning of these indefinite pronouns, English speakers also use they when talking about one person. Consider this example: 28Someone sent me a text message yesterday, but they didn't say their name. I didn't write back to them. 29The reason the English speaker used they is because the pronoun someone is not clear. It gives no information about the person's sex. It could be a man or a woman. Since gender is unclear, English speakers use the term they as a kind of gender-neutral pronoun. 30Closing thoughts 31When you read books written in English or watch American television shows, pay attention to how native speakers use the group of indefinite pronouns that we talked about today. 32Listen for subject-verb agreement. Ask yourself about what the indefinite pronoun is doing in the sentence. Consider why the speaker used an indefinite pronoun instead of another pronoun. These questions may be difficult. But remember this: With hard work, anything is possible. 33I'm Ashley Thompson. 34And I'm John Russell. 35John Russell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 36* They is the subject form. Their and them are the possessive and objective forms, respectively. 37_____________________________________________________________ 38Words in This Story 39indefinite - adj. not clear in meaning or detail 40refer to - phrasal verb to have a direct connection or relationship to (something) 41modify - v. grammar : to limit or describe the meaning of (a word or group of words) 42clause - n. grammar : a part of a sentence that has its own subject and verb 43apostrophe - n. the mark ʼ used to show the possessive form of a noun (as in "Lee's book" or "the tree's leaves") 44fictional - adj. meaning or involving a story or literature created from one's imagination 45We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.