Somebody, Anything, Nowhere
Level A2 · Pronouns & Possessives
Indefinite pronouns talk about people, things, and places without saying exactly which ones: somebody knocked at the door (a person, but you don't know or don't say who). They're built from four prefixes — some-, any-, no-, every- — combined with -body/-one (people), -thing (things), and -where (places): somebody/someone, anything, nowhere, everyone.
The prefix follows the same rules as some/any:
- some- in positive statements and in offers/requests: Somebody called you; Would you like something to drink?
- any- in questions and negatives: Did anybody call? I didn't see anything.
- no- carries the negative by itself, with a positive verb: Nobody came (not Nobody didn't come); There's nothing in the fridge.
- every- means all, taken as a whole: Everybody enjoyed the party; everything is ready.
Three grammar points that follow from the form:
- All these words take a singular verb, even when the meaning feels plural: Everybody is here; nothing was missing; someone has taken my seat.
- But the pronoun referring back to them is usually they/their in modern English: Somebody left their umbrella; if anyone calls, tell them I'm out.
- An adjective goes after the indefinite pronoun, not before: something strange, nothing new, somewhere quiet (not a strange something).
The most common mistake is a double negative: I didn't see nothing is wrong in standard English, because didn't and nothing both carry negation — use either I didn't see anything (negative verb + any-) or I saw nothing (positive verb + no-). A second frequent error: a plural verb after every-/some- compounds — everybody are here is wrong; it's everybody is here.
Look for the prefix as the signal: some- in positives and offers, any- in questions and negatives, no- with a positive verb carrying the negation alone, every- for the whole group — and a singular verb after all of them.