Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that have no specific antecedents. Although an indefinite pronoun may refer to someone or something identifiable, it refers to them in general with the notion of all, some, any, or none.

Indefinite pronouns obey the rule of concord in grammar in that singular indefinite pronouns are only used with singular verbs while plural indefinite pronouns only go with plural verbs. Examples are given below in sentences.

Examples:

1.       Singular                -              Somebody says he/she likes the book.

       Plural                   -              Many were saying that they liked the book.

2.       Singular                -              John gave me another bottle of Coke yesterday.

Plural                    -              Several men gave me bottles of Coke yesterday.

3.       Singular                -              Someone/Everyone here wants to see you.

Plural                    -              Some of us here want to see you.

4.       Singular                -              Nobody here knows what is next.

Plural                    -              Many here know what is next.

Look at the following sentences:
Every student are in the class (WRONG)
Every student is in the class. (CORRECT)

Few mango is in the fridge. (WRONG)
Few mangoes are in the fridge. (CORRECT)

Neither of the shoes are good for me. (WRONG)
Neither of the shoes is good for me. (CORRECT)

There are two types of indefinite pronouns: Singular and plural indefinite pronouns.

The singular indefinite pronouns include:

another, both, everything, nothing, any, each, neither, one, anybody, either, nobody, somebody, anyone, everybody, none, someone, anything, everyone, no one, something.

The plural indefinite pronouns include:

                all, few,  more, much, several, both, many, most, plenty, some.

NOTE: Indefinite pronouns can only be classified as pronouns if they are used alone. If they are used with a noun, then they become indefinite adjectives.

Examples:

Pronoun:             Both agreed that surgery was the only solution.

Adjective:           Both doctors agreed that surgery was the only solution.

"Both" becomes an indefinite adjective in the second sentence because it modifies the noun "doctors."

Pronoun:             Several have marvelled at the new the look of Lagos.

Adjective:           Several tourists have marvelled at the new look of Lagos.

"Several" becomes an indefinite adjective in the second sentence because it modifies the noun "tourists."        

PRONOUN CASES

ANALYSIS OF THE LAST PROBLEMS
When we are faced with this kind of problem,  the simple logic is: Break the sentence into two or three depending on the number of used pronouns and try to fix the pronouns in the spaces provided, whilst noticing the function(s) of the pronouns in each of the sentences.

Remember that in our last lesson, we said the following are:
Nominative - I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who. (They can only be used as SUBJECTS)
Objective - me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom. (They can only be used as OBJECTS)
Possessive - my, mine, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs, your, yours, whose. (They show possessions).

Let's practice it here:
(1) The man slapped ............. (a) you and me            (b) you and I                (c) me and she
If we look at the options, the only option that has two Nominative pronouns is option A
So, if we break the sentence down into two:

(a) The man slapped you.
(b) The man slapped me.


 It would be wrong to say, for example, using option B to say:
(a) The man slapped I. (X)

Try this method on question 2 and guess the correct answer.
(2) ....... and ....... ate the food.      (a) He and her          (b) He and she           (c) Him and her

Questions 3 & 4 combine the three pronoun cases: nominative, objective and possessive. Study the pronouns again, try the method above and guess the correct answer.
(3) When both ...... and ........ dog came in, I saw that ......... tail has been cut off.
       (a) he/his/it           (b) him/his/its           (c) he/his/it's            (d) he/his/its

(4) ....... told Mrs. John that both ....... and ....... daughter may come in.
(a) She/she/her         (b) She/her/her                 (c) She/her/she                  (d) Her/her/her.

PLEASE, endeavour to leave your comments behind so I may know how well you got it. Note that you could comment as anonymous.

Pronoun Cases

 What is a pronoun case? 

The case of a pronoun is defined by the function of the pronoun in a sentence or clause.                

Types of Pronoun Case

• Nominative Case

In the nominative (also called subjective) case, pronoun functions as the subject of sentence, or as the subject complement (predicate noun). Pronouns in this case tell "who did what". 

Examples are: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who. 

Examples:  

1. She came to the house.
2. Who has seen the wind?
3. I am she.  (In response to an inquiry.)
4. This is she.

• Objective Case

The objective case pronoun functions as a direct or indirect object, or as an object of a preposition. Pronouns in this case tell "to whom something was done".

Examples are: me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom.

Examples: 

1.  I gave her a nickel.
2.  I sold it to them.
3.  I don't know to whom I speak.
4.  The book is beside him.

• Possessive Case

The possessive case pronoun indicates possession. That is, pronouns in this case tell "who owns what".

Examples are: my, mine, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs, your, yours, whose 

Example:  

    1.   That is my baseball.                                                       

          That baseball is mine.  

    2.   Her pleasure at receiving the award was apparent.                    

          The pleasure was all hers.  

   

    3.  That is its tail.                                                                          

         The tail is its.        

NOTE: The subject in a sentence performs the action of the verb (i.e. it is the doer of the verb's action. Conversely, the object receives the action of the verb. (We shall treat this in greater details later).