An indefinite pronoun refers to a person, thing, or quantity without identifying it precisely. English uses words such as someone, something, nothing, several, and everything for this purpose.
French uses different indefinite pronouns for unknown or unspecified people and things, absence, quantities, and members of a group.
Common indefinite pronouns
Some indefinite pronouns do not change form for gender:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| quelque chose | something |
| personne | nobody, no one |
| rien | nothing |
| plusieurs | several |
| tout | everything |
Other indefinite pronouns change for gender or number:
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| quelqu'un | quelqu'une | someone |
| quelques-uns | quelques-unes | some, some of them |
| chacun | chacune | each one |
| certains | certaines | some |
| aucun | aucune | none, not one |
| tous | toutes | all, all of them |
Unspecified people and group members
Quelqu'un is the pronoun for an unspecified person. It can refer to a man or a woman. It appears as either the subject or another part of the sentence:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Quelqu'un attend à la porte. | Someone is waiting at the door. |
| Je cherche quelqu'un. | I'm looking for someone. |
Quelqu'une has a narrower use. It is literary or refers to one female person or feminine thing selected from an identified group.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Quelqu'une de mes collègues vient avec nous. | One of my female colleagues is coming with us. |
The plural forms quelques-uns and quelques-unes refer to part of a larger group without specifying exactly which members:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Quelques-uns de mes amis habitent à Lyon. | Some of my friends live in Lyon. |
| Quelques-unes de ces maisons sont anciennes. | Some of these houses are old. |
Quelques-uns is masculine or mixed plural, while quelques-unes is feminine plural.
When an adjective follows quelqu'un, French normally places de before the adjective. The adjective takes the masculine singular form.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| quelqu'un de gentil | someone nice |
| quelqu'un d'intéressant | someone interesting |
An unspecified thing
Quelque chose means something and refers to an unspecified thing, idea, or situation. It is grammatically singular:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Quelque chose a changé. | Something has changed. |
| J'entends quelque chose. | I hear something. |
| Elle veut quelque chose. | She wants something. |
As shown in these examples, it can function as either the subject or object of a sentence.
An adjective after quelque chose uses de and the masculine singular form:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| quelque chose de simple | something simple |
| quelque chose d'important | something important |
Absence with personne and rien
Personne refers to the absence of a person, while rien refers to the absence of a thing. In their basic negative forms, they correspond to nobody, no one, and nothing.
subject + ne + verb + personne subject + ne + verb + rien
When either pronoun follows the verb, standard French places ne before the verb:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Je ne vois personne. | I don't see anyone. |
| Elle ne connaît personne ici. | She doesn't know anyone here. |
| Nous ne trouvons rien. | We can't find anything. |
| Il ne comprend rien. | He doesn't understand anything. |
Personne and rien can also serve as the subject:
personne + ne + verb rien + ne + verb
In that position, the pronoun comes before ne and the verb:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Personne ne répond. | Nobody is answering. |
| Personne ne vient aujourd'hui. | Nobody is coming today. |
| Rien ne change. | Nothing changes. |
| Rien ne fonctionne. | Nothing works. |
These constructions do not use pas because personne or rien include the negative meaning.
Informal speech often omits ne, while standard written French normally keeps it.
Individual members with chacun and chacune
Chacun and chacune both mean each one. They refer to the members of a group individually rather than to the group as a whole.
The pronoun agrees with the gender of the person or thing it refers to and takes a singular verb:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Chacun a une clé. | Each person has a key. |
| Chacune choisit une couleur. | Each one chooses a color. |
| Chacun de nous a reçu un message. | Each of us received a message. |
| J'en donne un à chacun. | I give one to each person. |
Chaque has a related meaning but appears before a noun. Chacun and chacune stand in place of the noun.
Unspecified groups with plusieurs and certains
Plusieurs means several and refers to an unspecified number greater than one. The pronoun itself does not change for gender and takes a plural verb.
Its use as a pronoun leaves the noun unstated:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Plusieurs sont déjà arrivés. | Several have already arrived. |
| J'en connais plusieurs. | I know several. |
| Plusieurs préfèrent attendre. | Several prefer to wait. |
Certains and certaines mean some and refer to part of a larger group. The form agrees with the gender of the group.
These pronouns also take a plural verb:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Certains sont d'accord. | Some agree. |
| Certaines sont déjà parties. | Some have already left. |
| J'en connais certains. | I know some of them. |
Plusieurs, certains, and certaines can also appear before a noun. They function as pronouns when they stand in place of that noun.
Absence with aucun and aucune
Aucun and aucune mean none or not one. They refer to the absence of a member of a group.
The pronoun agrees with the gender of the noun it replaces and normally appears with ne:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Aucun ne répond. | None of them is answering. |
| Aucune n'est disponible. | None is available. |
| Je n'en connais aucun. | I don't know any of them. |
| Elle n'en trouve aucune. | She can't find any. |
Aucun and aucune are singular because each means that not even one member of the group is present or applies.
Wholes and groups with tout, tous, and toutes
Tout means everything when it stands alone as an indefinite pronoun. In this use, it is singular.
It can serve as the subject or object of a sentence:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Tout va bien. | Everything is going well. |
| Tout est prêt. | Everything is ready. |
| J'ai tout compris. | I understood everything. |
Tous and toutes refer to all the individual members of a group. They are plural, and the form reflects the gender of the group.
The plural pronouns can appear in several positions:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Tous sont prêts. | All of them are ready. |
| Toutes sont arrivées. | All of them have arrived. |
| Je les connais tous. | I know all of them. |
| Elles sont toutes ici. | They are all here. |
Tout presents everything as a whole. Tous and toutes refer to the members of a group collectively.
From learning to practice
Indefinite pronouns are common when a speaker does not identify a particular person or thing or refers only to part of a group. In conversations and announcements, listen for whether the speaker leaves the person or thing unspecified, expresses absence, or refers to some or all members of a group.