Most indefinite pronouns correspond to discretely singular or plural usage. However, some of them can entail singularity in one context and plurality in another. Pronouns that commonly connote indefiniteness are indicated below, with examples as singular, plural, or singular/plural usage.
Table of indefinite pronouns and adverbs List of quantifier pronouns English has the following
quantifier pronouns: ;Uncountable (thus, with a singular verb form) •
enough –
Enough is enough. •
little –
Little is known about this period of history. •
less –
Less is known about this period of history. •
much –
Much was discussed at the meeting. •
more (also countable, plural) –
More is better. •
most (also countable, plural) –
Most was rotten. (Usually specified, such as in
most of the food.) •
plenty (also countable, plural) – ''Thanks, that's plenty.'' ;Countable, singular •
one –
One has got through. (Often modified or specified, such as in
a single one,
one of them, etc.) ;Countable, plural •
several –
Several were chosen. •
few –
Few were chosen. •
fewer –
Fewer are going to church these days. •
many –
Many were chosen. •
more (also uncountable) –
More were ignored. (Often specified, such as in
more of us.)
Possessive forms Some of the English indefinite pronouns above have
possessive forms. These are made as for nouns, by adding '' 's
or just an apostrophe following a plural -s'' (see
English possessive). The most commonly encountered possessive forms of the above pronouns are: • ''one's'', as in "One should mind one's own business." • those derived from the singular indefinite pronouns ending in
-one or
-body: ''nobody's
, someone's
, etc. (Those ending -thing
can also form possessives, such as nothing's'', but these are less common.) • ''whoever's'', as in "We used whoever's phone that is." • those derived from
other and its variants: ''the other's
, another's
, and the plural others''': "We should not take others' possessions." • ''either's
, neither's'' Most of these forms are identical to a form representing the pronoun plus ''-'s
as a contraction of is
or has
. Hence, someone's
may also mean someone is
or someone has'', as well as serving as a possessive. ==Compound indefinite pronouns==