Indefinite pronouns (0)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Indefinite  Pronouns  
 
 
 
Table of Contents 
 
Some and any....................................................................... 2 
No (+ Noun ) and none (+ Pronoun) ........................................ 3 
Every and each..................................................................... 3 
Whole  ................................................................................... 4 
Both , either and neither ....................................................... 4 
Few/a few – a little /little....................................................... 5 
A lot of/ lots of – much/many................................................ 5 
Some, any + - body / -one, + - thing , + -where ........................ 6 
 
Some and any 
  
Some and any  mean a certain number or amount. They are used with or 
instead of plural or uncountable nouns . 
Some is a possible plural form of a/an and one: 
Have a biscuit/some biscuits. 
I bought a cake/some cakes. 
Some, any and none can be used with of + the/this/ these /those (+ ...) 
Some of the staff  can speak Portuguese. 
Did any of your photos  come out well? 
You can take any of these. 
  
Some is used: 
•  with affirmative verbs:  
They bought some honey. 
•  in  questions  where the answer ‘yes’ is expected :  
Did some of you sleep on the board ? (I expect so.) 
•  in polite   offers  and requests:  
Would you like some  wine ? 
Could you do some typing for me? 
  
Any is used: 
•  With  negative  verbs:  
I haven ’t got any matches. 
•  With hardly, barely, scarcely (which are almost negatives):  
I have hardly any  spare time. 
•  With without when without any ...= with no ... :  
He crossed the  frontier  without any difficulty/with no difficulty. 
•  With questions except the types noted above :  
Have you got any  money ? 
Did he catch  any  fish ? 
•  After if, whether and in  expressions of doubt:  
If you need any money, please let me  know . 
I don’t think  there  is any  petrol  in the tank . 
 
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Some or any can be used with  singular , countable nouns: 
Some  here usually means ’an unspecified or unknown’: 
Some  idiot  parked his car  outside my garage. 
Or  other  can be added to emphasize that the speaker isn’t very interested: 
He doesn’t believe in conventional  medicine ; he has some remedy or other 
of his own. 
Any can mean ’practically every’, ‘no particular (one)’: 
Any book about writing will  tell you how to saddle a horse. 
Any dictionary will give you the meaning of these words . 
 
  
No (+ Noun) and none (+ Pronoun) 
  
No and none can be used with affirmative verbs to express a negative: 
I have no cherries in my  garden , I had some last  year  but I have none this 
year. 
No + Noun can be the subject of a sentence: 
No  work  was  done . 
No  letter (s) have  arrived . 
None as the subject is possible but not very usual: 
Some people had been invited, but none came. 
We expected some letters , but there were none. 
None + of, however , is quite usual as the subject: 
None of of the tourists  wanted to  climb  the mountain . 
None of of the applicants had proper qualifications. 
 
 
Every and each 
  
Every is used with singular countable nouns. It refers to people or things as 
members of a group and means all, everything, everyone, etc.: 
Every  person has a  birth certificate. 
 
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Each is used with singular countable nouns. It refers to the members of a group 
separately: 
Each model was dressed in colourful clothes. (= each model separately). 
Every one and Each (one) can be followed by of: 
She had three children  and she bought fantastic  presents  for each (one) of 
them . 
Terry has been to many countries. He enjoyed visiting every one of them. 
 
Whole 
  
Whole is used before a singular noun. It means ’all’ or ’ complete ’: 
 
I’ve spent my whole life  waiting  for that moment. 
  
 
Both, either and neither 
  
Both, either and neither are used when speaking about two things: 
I’ve got two bicycles , both of them are quite old. I don’t use either of them 
any more, since  neither of them is in very  good condition . 
Both means ’the one and the other’: 
I had two letters this morning and both letters/both the letters/both of 
the letters/both of them were  bills . 
Either means ’the one or the other’, and neither means ’not the one or the 
other’: 
 
I haven’t met either twin/either of the twins/ either of them. 
 
Neither shoe fits/ Neither of the shoes  fits)/Neither of them fit(s). 
Both, either and neither can be used on their own: 
 
The store has two lifts , and both are out of  order / neither is  working . 
  
 
 
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Few/a few – a little/little 
  
A few and few are used with plural countable nouns. 
A little and little are used with uncountable nouns. 
With ’a’ the meaning is optimistic, expressing a positive attitude : 
We have a few oranges. We can make some orange juice. (= some oranges, 
though not many)  
I have a few good friends. (= I can always rely on them) 
There is a little tea  left  – would you like another cup? (= some tea, but  
not much) 
I have a little money. (= There is no need to  worry ) 
Without ’a’ the meaning is pessimistic, expressing a negative attitude: 
Few customers have come to the  shop . It has been very  quiet . (= the sales  
were low!) 
 
Tom has made little progress. (= so sad!) 
Few and little can be used with very for emphasis : 
There were very few people at the supermarket . 
There is very little  milk left. I’ll go and buy some. 
  
 
A lot of/lots of – much/many 
  
A lot of and lots of are used with both plural countable and uncountable nouns. 
They are normally used in affirmative  sentences . The of is omitted when a lot is 
not followed by a noun: 
There are a lot/lots of oranges in the fridge. I can make some juice. 
  
He laughs a lot. 
Much and many are usually used in negative sentences or in questions. Much 
is used with uncountable nouns and many is used with plural countable nouns: 
There aren ’t many  parks in the centre of the city. 
Did you spend much money at the supermarket? 
 
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How much and how many are used in questions: 
How much + uncountable noun → amount 
How many + countable noun  → number 
How much pepper shall  I put in the soup ? 
How many children do they have? 
Too much and too many have a negative meaning and show that there is more 
of something than is wanted or needed. 
Too much is used with uncountable nouns: 
He couldn’t sleep because the children were making  too much noise. 
Too many is used with plural countable nouns. 
The station  was very crowded. There were too many people there. 
 
Some, any + -body / -one, + -thing, + -where 
 
The compounds of some and any behave in the same way as some and any, i.e. 
some- is used in affirmative sentences and any- in negatives and questions, 
although some- is also used in questions to offer something, to ask for something 
or when we expect a positive answer: 
I saw somebody there. 
I did not see anybody there. 
Did you see anybody there? 
Would you like something to eat? 
 
‘I did not see anybody there’ means the same as ‘I saw  nobody  there’, but two 
negative words cannot be used: *I did not see nobody there. ( WRONG – there is 
no double negation in English !) 
 
Anybody, nobody and somebody mean the same as anyone, no-one and 
someone  respectively. No-one can also be written no one. 
 
Any- in affirmative sentences means "every-" or "it does not matter which / who": 
Anybody can do it. It's very easy. 
 
 
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Somewhere else = elsewhere 
If you don’t like it  here ,  find a new job elsewhere (=somewhere else). 
 Some more examples: 
Somebody told me you were  abroad . 
Nobody came to the  meeting . 
Was there anybody in the house? 
I want something to eat. 
I don't need  anything . 
I need nothing. 
Would you like something to  drink ? 
Is there anything in that  drawer ? 
I want to go somewhere else. 
I didn't go anywhere. 
I went  nowhere. 
Have you seen my car keys anywhere? 
 
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