Indefinite pronouns, which refer to unspecified people or objects, are often singular, although there are exceptions.
When you find an indefinite pronoun in your writing, use the following to help you determine the correct verb form, singular or plural. If the pronoun may be singular or plural, you will need to check whether the word it refers to is singular or plural to determine what verb form to use.
Indefinite Pronouns
| ALWAYS SINGULAR (USE THE IS FORM OF BE) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| anybody | everyone | nothing | ||
| anyone | everything | one (of) | ||
| anything | much | somebody | ||
| each (of) | neither (of) | someone | ||
| either (of) | nobody | something | ||
| everybody | no one | |||
| ALWAYS PLURAL (USE THE ARE FORM OF BE) | ||||
| both | many | |||
| MAY BE SINGULAR OR PLURAL (USE THE IS OR ARE FORM) | ||||
| all | none | |||
| any | some | |||
Everyone loves vacations. [Everyone is always singular, so it takes the singular verb loves.]
Some of the wreckage was recovered after the crash. [In this case, some is singular, referring to wreckage, so it takes the singular verb was recovered.]
Some of the workers were delayed by the storm. [In this case, some is plural, referring to workers, so it takes the plural verb were delayed.]