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Pronouns somebody, anybody, nobody

Pronouns somebody And anybody denote someone, anyone, and the pronoun nobody - no one, no one. Pronoun somebody used in affirmative sentences. In interrogative and negative sentences somebody changes to anybody. Pronoun nobody used within the meaning where the word is needed nobody. However, if the sentence uses nobody, then the verb is in the affirmative form without a negative particle not, as well as other negative words take a non-negative form. If the verb is used with a particle not, that is, in a negative form, can only be used anybody.

Affirmative sentences

There is somebody in my flat.
There is someone in my apartment.

Somebody must do something about it.
Someone should do something about this.

Somebody is going to do that.
Someone is going to do it.

Negative sentences

There isn't anybody in my flat.
There is no one in my apartment.

They shouldn't see anybody.
They shouldn't see anyone.

We cannot find anyone.
We can't find anyone.

Negative sentences formed with nobody

There is nobody in my flat.
There is no one in my apartment.

Nobody must do anything about it.
Nobody has to do anything about it.

Nobody is going to do that.
Nobody is going to do this.

Interrogative sentences

Is there anybody in your flat?
Is there anyone in your apartment?

Can anyone come here?
Can anyone come in here?

Is anybody going to do that?
Is anyone going to do this?

Expression of plurality

To form the plural of countable nouns, the ending is –s. To express plurality in English words like many, much, a lot of, plenty of, indicating....

Second form of the verb

The second, or past, form of the verb denotes forms like: did, wrote, read. The second form of most verbs is formed using the ending –ed("call - called, play - played, paint - painted"). However, a number of verbs...

All tense constructions are in the active voice

Pronouns somebody, someone are synonymous and, in most cases, they are interchangeable. Both are translated the same way: someone, anyone, anyone. But when used in a sentence, nevertheless, available.

To understand how the rules for using these two pronouns differ, you need to consider their similarities:

• somebody and someone are noun-pronouns
• in a sentence they serve as subject and object
• used in affirmative sentences, special and general issues, in which a request or any proposal is expressed

Somebody killed him. - Someone killed him.

Someone still loves you. - Someone still loves you.

Why didn’t you ask somebody to show you the way to the hospital? - Why didn't you ask someone to show you how to get to the hospital?

Somebody and someone are derived pronouns and consist of the indefinite pronoun some and the nouns body and one, respectively. It is these nouns in the names of pronouns that influence the rules of their use.

Pronoun somebody

The word somebody contains the word body. One of its main meanings is the word “body”, it can correspond to an inanimate object, some kind of material, physical body. For example, this may refer to the main part of a mechanism. The noun body also refers to a living being, which is a person. Therefore, the word body can mean a person or the main part of the human body - the torso.

Somebody is translated as “anyone”, “anyone”, in meaning we are talking about “some kind of body”, that is, about some individual from many of their own kind. It doesn’t matter who this person is, this is a person taken at random, you can talk about him in the same way as about all other people in general. Thus, this person does not stand out from the crowd, so somebody does not separate, but rather unites all similar people into a group. When using somebody in speech, the whole crowd is implied. One can compare the use of this pronoun with the theory random numbers: No one knows what number will come up. In some ways, the pronoun every behaves exactly the same way.

Somebody is sure to find the lost papers. - Surely, someone will find the lost documents (some people, one or more persons - “anyone” is any person, no matter which one, unknown to either the speaker or the listener, one from the crowd or even several people).

I am afraid somebody will know about it. - I'm afraid that someone will find out about this (some people, one or more persons - “anyone” is any person from my environment, unknown to either the speaker or the listener, one from the crowd or several people).

Ask somebody to show you the way to the post-office. - Ask someone to show you the way to the post office (some people, one or more persons - meaning any person passing by, or several people).

Pronoun someone

The word someone contains the word one. One of its meanings is the word “person”. This refers to a single person, a person who is an individual, which means he stands out from the crowd and has some characteristic features. This is the main meaningdifference between someone and somebody.

Someone is translated into Russian as “someone”, and in terms of meaning in speech, “someone” means a person from among many of his own kind, who stands out in some way or “leaves a mark.” When using someone in speech, the speaker imagines one person, but unknown, indefinite. According to the same rules, the pronoun each is used in speech.

This is a letter from someone who lost the papers. - This is a letter from some person who lost documents (a person, one person - a letter from “someone” - from some person, but it was this person who lost the documents and wrote the letter, that is, “left a trace” , relatively speaking).

Someone left a magazine here yesterday. - Someone left a magazine here yesterday (a person, one person - “someone”, unknown to either the speaker or the listener, but a very specific person who left the magazine).

Someone has asked you on the phone. - Someone asked you to come to the phone (a person, one person - “someone” - an unknown person, but a specific person who expressed this request).

Somebody and someone - differencein use

• Someone is used if a person is in some crowded place and does not know who he is pointing at.

Someone left the room and started screaming loudly. - Someone left the room and started shouting loudly (someone means that the speaker does not know which of all the people in it left the room).

If a person can be known to the speaker, somebody is used.

Somebody left the room and started screaming loudly. - Someone left the room and started shouting loudly (somebody means that the speaker may know who it is, but he is unknown to him in this particular situation).

• Someone is used if the speaker does not know the person and there are a lot of people around. Somebody, on the contrary, is used if there are a small number of people around.

• Someone is more appropriate in formal speech, while somebody sounds less formal.

In order not to miss new useful materials,

Somebody has killed him. - Someone killed him.

Someone still loves you. - Someone still loves you.

She knows something about it. “She knows something about it.”

Would you like something to eat? – Would you like something to eat?

Why didn't you ask somebody to show you the way to the hospital? – Why didn’t you ask someone to show you how to get to the hospital?

Does anybody believe him? – Does anyone believe him?

I didn't tell anyone about our relations. – I didn’t tell anyone about our relationship.

If anyone agrees to sign this contract, I will resign. – If someone agrees to sign this contract, I will quit.

Is there anything to drink? - Is there anything to drink?

After such indefinite pronouns as somebody And anybody, we don't use of. If we want to convey the phrase “one of us,” we say one of us. If we want to convey the phrase “any of us,” we say any of us.

Yes, pronouns derived from any, can mean “any”, “any”, “anything” in affirmative sentences and questions. For example:

Anyone can run fast. – Anyone can run fast.

I would do anything for love (but I won’t do that). – I would do anything for love (but I won’t do that).

There are two more pronouns in this group that we haven't talked about. These are the words somewhere And anywhere, which are translated “somewhere”, “somewhere”, “somewhere”, “somewhere”, “somewhere”.

She is somewhere in Sydney. - She's somewhere in Sydney.

Is there a shop anywhere? – Is there a store somewhere?

Often after indefinite pronouns derived from some And any, you may discover else or, expressed. And one more thing: these pronouns can be used without problems in .

Tell me something curious. - Tell me something interesting.

Does anybody else find this woman attractive? “Does anyone else think this woman is attractive?”

The burglar broke into somebody's house. – A burglar broke into someone’s house.

I'll never be anybody's hero. “I will never be anyone’s hero.”

Pronouns derived from no: nobody, no one, nothing, nowhere

Like the indefinite pronouns of the previous section, these negative pronouns are formed by combining no with words body, one, thing, where. And they are translated accordingly: no one, nothing, nowhere. Being pronouns-nouns, these words are used in sentences only with a verb in the affirmative form, since, according to the rules, double negatives are not allowed in English. But this axiom is being questioned. You can read more about double negation and its admissibility in the article “”.

Nobody knows him. - Nobody knows him.

No one lives forever. - Nobody lives forever.

I have nothing to hide from you. “I have nothing to hide from you.”

This conversation is getting us nowhere. – This conversation will lead us nowhere (nowhere).

Note that these pronouns require a third person singular verb as a subject. And after these negative pronouns we do not put of. If we want to say “none of us”, we choose – none of us. And if we are talking about only two persons, suitable option – neither of us.

None of us is perfect. - Nobody is perfect.

Neither of them knows the truth. “They both don’t know the truth.”

By the way, the pronoun none also works as a pronoun-noun. It can replace in an English sentence.

You have money and I have none. – You have money, but I don’t.

She bought a lot of toys and he bought none. “She bought a lot of toys, but he didn’t buy any.”

Pronoun all

But this indefinite pronoun in English can be both a noun pronoun and an adjective pronoun. And in a sentence its functions are as follows: subject, object, definition.

When we work with pronoun-adjective all, we use it to mean "all" (countable nouns, plural) and in the meaning “all”, “all”, “all” ( uncountable nouns). If this pronoun has , or , then their placement is after all.

I remember all the things she said. “I remember everything she said.”

It can't rain all the time. – It can’t rain all the time.

If we work with a countable noun in singular and want to convey the meaning “all”, we instead of the pronoun all we usually use a combination the whole. By the way, if there are words morning, day, night, as well as other time symbols, we have the right to use all, And wholesale.

The whole city is going crazy. “The whole city is going crazy.”

The birds were singing all the morning (the whole morning). - The birds sang all morning.

When we work with a pronoun-noun all, we use it to mean “all”, “everything”:

They all deserve to die. “They all deserve to die.”

I think we are all doomed “I think we're all doomed.”

You have all read this book. – You have all read this book.

We must all take responsibility. “We all have to be responsible.”

They have all been knighted. “They were all knighted.”

Who should do it? – Who should do this?
– We all should. - All of us.

She'll give invitations to them all. “She’ll give them all invitations.”

Look carefully at the examples above and pay attention to the placement of the pronoun all V different situations, namely:

• before the predicate verb;
• after the verb to be;
• after or ;
• If auxiliary verbs two, then after the first of them;
• before the auxiliary or modal verb in short answers;
• after pronouns in object.

all is the subject of the sentence and has the meaning “everything”, the predicate verb is in the plural:

All are equal. - Everyone is equal.

When an indefinite pronoun all is the subject of the sentence and has the meaning “everything”, the predicate verb is singular:

All is lost. - Everything is lost.

Read about other indefinite pronouns in English in the second article (). You will need them to pass the next test.

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Indefinite pronouns in English