Examples

In Modern English, he is a singular, masculine, third-person pronoun.

• I don’t know anything about it. = neutral.
• I know nothing about it. = defensive.
• I don’t have anybody to talk to. = neutral.
• I have nobody to talk to. = hopeless.
• There wasn’t anything we could do. = neutral.
• There was nothing we could do. = defensive/angry.

A definite pronoun would be a pronoun that refers to something specific, so a personal pronoun would also be a definite pronoun. (Refer back to the Personal Pronouns page to see examples.) Indefinite pronouns do not refer to anything specific, so words like someone and everybody are indefinite pronouns.

The following indefinite pronouns are always singular:

• one.
• anyone, everyone, no one, someone.
• anybody, everybody, nobody, somebody.
• another, the other.
• either, neither.
• each.
• little, less.
• much.

Indefinite pronouns are non-specific words like someone, others, several or none. Some of these pronouns are always singular or always plural. But some can change their number—they can be either singular or plural, depending on the context.

An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that refers to an unspecified or unidentified person or thing. It’s vague rather than specific, and it doesn’t have an antecedent.

An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun which does not have a specific familiar referent. Indefinite pronouns are in contrast to definite pronouns. Indefinite pronouns can represent either count nouns or noncount nouns.

An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing or amount. It is vague and “not definite”. Some typical indefinite pronouns are: all, another, any, anybody/anyone, anything, each, everybody/everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none, one, several, some, somebody/someone.

An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that refers to a person or a thing without being specific. The most common ones are all, any, anyone, anything, each, everybody, everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none, one, several, some, somebody, and someone.

They are indefinite pronouns as they do not refer to a specific, definite person. Indefinite pronouns can be divided into three categories based on whether they take a singular or plural verb: Always singular: anyone, everyone, someone, someone, anybody, somebody, nobody, each, one, either and neither.

These words—“everybody” and “nobody”—are indefinite pronouns, meaning they don’t refer to a particular person. Both these indefinite pronouns are singular. This is important information, as you need to know if the subject is plural or singular in order to use the correct verb form.

Indefinite imprisonment or indeterminate imprisonment is the imposition of a sentence by imprisonment with no definite period of time set during sentencing. Such a sentence is unconstitutional today, particularly in the United States.

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Indefinite pronouns that end in -one are always singular. These words include anyone, everyone, someone, and one. Indefinite pronouns that end in -body are always singular. These words include anybody, somebody, nobody.

Here is a brief list of 10 suggestions for subject-verb agreement. A subject made up of nouns joined by and takes a plural subject, unless that subject’s intended sense is singular. She and I run every day. When a subject is made up of nouns joined by or, the verb agrees with the last noun.

A singular verb is one that has an s added to it in the present tense, such as writes, plays, runs, and uses forms such as is, was, has, does. A plural verb does not have an s added to it, such as write, play, run, and uses forms such as are, were, have and do. E.g.

Meaning – Were is the past tense of the verb are. Look at this example of were used in a sentence. In present tense, this sentence would say. Since were means the same as the past tense of are in this sentence, it is the correct word to use.

Be verbs are am, are, is, was, were, been and being. We only only use be as to be.

Generally, “was is used for singular objects and “were” is used for plural objects. So, you will use “was” with I, he, she and it while you will use “were” with you, we and they.

Examples of were in a sentence If you’re discussing things that are unreal or conditional, then use were: I were and he/she/it were. Here are some example sentences: If I were in better shape, I would run in the race. She took over the meeting as if she were the boss.

Since ‘are’ is in the present tense, it must be used to denote an action that is being done in the present. Its counterpart, ‘were’, is used when the subject of the sentence is plural, and the action or condition that is expressed has already been completed or the event happened in the past.

We use there is for a singular object in the present tense and there are for plural objects in the present. There was is used when you refer to one thing or person. There were is used when you refer to more than one thing or person.

Verb Forms

There is an adverb meaning that place, but it is also used as a pronoun introducing a clause or sentence. Their is a possessive pronoun and it is used to show ownership of a thing or concept. They’re is a contraction of they are, used as a matter of style or in informal speech and writing.

Was is used in the first person singular (I) and the third person singular (he, she, it). Were is used in the second person singular and plural (you, your, yours) and first and third person plural (we, they). I was driving to the park. You were drinking some water.

Many people use if I was and if I were interchangeably to describe a hypothetical situation. The confusion occurs because when writing in the past tense, I was is correct while I were is incorrect. However, when writing about non-realistic or hypothetical situations, if I were is the only correct choice.