Get Agreement With Indefinite Pronouns

All parts of a sentence should agree. In general, if the subject is singular, the verb and any pronouns referring to the subject should be singular; if the subject is plural, the verb and any pronouns referring to the subject should be plural.

We use indefinite pronouns to refer to people or things without saying exactly who or what they are. We use pronouns ending in -body or -one for people, and pronouns ending in -thing for things: Everybody enjoyed the concert. I opened the door but there was no one at home.

Subject-Verb agreement can also seem tricky when the subject is what's called an "indefinite pronoun": anyone, anybody, each, either, everybody, everyone, neither, nobody, no one, someone, somebody, one. Although they may not look like it, these pronouns are almost always singular.

RULE: Pronouns have three cases: nominative (I, you, he, she, it, they), possessive (my, your, his, her, their), and objective (me, him, her, him, us, them). Use the nominative case when the pronoun is the subject of your sentence, and remember the rule of manners: always put the other person's name first!

Pronouns should agree in number, person, and gender with their antecedents. If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun should be singular. If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun should be plural. The following pointers will help in the special situations that are most likely to cause problems.

Examples Everyone is sleeping in my bed. Someone is sleeping in my bed. No one is sleeping in my bed. I gave everything to Sally. He saw something in the garden. There is nothing to eat. I looked everywhere for my keys. Keith is looking for somewhere to live.

Indefinite Pronouns Anybody – Everybody – Somebody – Nobody. Each one – Anyone – Everyone – No one –Someone. Anything – Everything – Something – Nothing. Each – Either – Neither.