Most of us use indefinite pronouns—such as someone, anybody, and everyone—to refer to unspecified people, things or groups.

But what if we need to use another pronoun later in a sentence to refer back to the indefinite pronoun? Should we use his or her when we want to refer to anybody? This decision can become confusing to many writers because it’s sometimes hard to tell whether some indefinite pronouns are plural or singular.

The following indefinite pronouns are only singular, and we should use a singular pronoun or pronouns:

another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, nothing, somebody, someone, and something.

EX: The teacher said everybody is supposed to have his or her homework turned in by noon. (Correct)

EX: The foreman assured us that, although the processing plant looks too complicated, everything on the location has its specific purpose. (Correct)

EX: I don't know which dress to buy. Each is pretty in its own way. (Correct)

The following indefinite pronouns are only plural and require us to use a plural pronoun when referring to them: 

both, few, many, several.

EX: Now that I remember, I left both of the dogs outside, but at least they have plenty of food and water. (Correct)

EX: I overheard my uncle talk about how few survived the attack on their small village. (Correct)

                                                 Definitions

Indefinite Pronouns: pronouns that refer to non-specific persons or things. Most are singular (everyone, each); some indefinite pronouns are always plural (both, many); and a few many be singular or plural (all, any, none, some).

Adapted from The Bedford Handbook, sixth edition.

Along with our website, we recommend visiting the Towson University Online Writing Support. In addition to tips on sentence structure, word usage, and punctuation, this website also offers helpful information about the parts of speech, including indefinite pronouns.

Test your understanding of antecedent agreement and indefinite pronouns by choosing the correct words.

1. Many of the hotel guests became ill after (he or she/they) ate supper.

2. Neither of the valets wanted to retrieve the cars in the rain to prevent (their/her) uniform from getting wet. (Both valets are female)

3. I didn’t realize it until the morning, but several of the buildings lost (its/their) roofs during the storm overnight.

4. Because the show was so entertaining, we didn’t notice someone knocking on the front door; (he/ they) was selling vacuum cleaners, door-to-door. (The salesperson is male)

Answers

1. Many of the hotel guests became ill after they ate supper.

2. Neither of the valets wanted to retrieve the cars in the rain to prevent her uniform from getting wet.

3. I didn’t realize it until the morning, but several of the buildings lost their roofs during the storm overnight.

4. Because the show was so entertaining, we didn’t notice someone knocking on the front door; he was selling vacuum cleaners, door-to-door.

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

Subscribe/Unsubscribe/View Archive