Indefinite Pronouns

It’s confusing to know how to make sure that the subject agrees with the verb when using indefinite pronouns. Mostly, indefinite pronouns are treated as singular nouns. 

The following indefinite pronouns are singular: each, one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, no one, nobody, anyone, anybody, someone, somebody.  These pronouns are treated as an unspecified, single entity. 

          (E.g. Everyone is excited about the field trip.) 

The following indefinite pronouns are plural: both, few, several, many. 

          (E.g. Many have skipped breakfast to sleep in.) 

Some indefinite pronouns can either be singular or plural, depending on the context. Indefinite pronouns like “all”, “some”, “any”, “none”, “most” can be tricky. When you see these words, ask yourself the following question: Are you referring to a singular mass or countable items? If you want to say, “some is missing” and “some” is referring to water, which cannot be counted, then use it as singular. However, if “some” is referring to water bottles, which are countable, then you should say “some are missing”.