Indefinite pronoun

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An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that does not refer to a specific person, place or thing. When an indefinite pronoun is used as the subject, the verb must agree with it. An indefinite pronoun always refers to a person, place, thing, or idea that may not be specifically named.

At present, singular indefinite pronouns cause one of the most consistent deviations from Standard Academic English. Writers from all backgrounds, unless specifically taught otherwise, will tend to use plural pronouns to (try to) refer to those singular antecedents like "someone," "somebody," "no one," "everyone," "anyone," "nobody," "anybody," and "everybody." For instance, while the sentence: "Everybody had their matching towels," may sound better than: "Everybody had his or her matching towel," the second sentence is considered Standard Academic English because of the singular nature of "Everybody." More and more, a dual singular-plural function for these pronouns is becoming second-nature in spoken English.

The primary force in moving from strict singularity for these pronouns is the need to be gender inclusive. One hundred years ago, very few people would have questioned the sentence: "Everyone had his matching towel," even when referencing a mixed group (both men and women) of sunbathers. Of course, as with so many other activities like employment or household work, mixed swimming/bathing was far less common then, also. However, our need for an inclusive male-female, third-person singular pronoun has created a borrowing from the plural, third-person pronoun. This borrowing is commonly accepted as standard speech; it is, nevertheless, a consistent problem from writers who are not used to thinking about pronoun-antecedent agreement.

As a quick test to confirm that an English speaker/writer understands the predominately and traditionally singular nature of the above pronouns, the substitution of alternate subjects can point out the inconsistency of commonly used phrases:

Jack sells his own potatoes.

They sell their own potatoes.

Tom and Mary sell their own potatoes.

Everybody sells potatoes.

[non-standard] Everybody sells their own potatoes.

[standard] Everybody sells her own potatoes.

[standard] Everybody sells his own potatoes.

[standard] Everybody sells her or his own potatoes.

[standard] Everybody sells his or her own potatoes.

[standard] The producers sell their own potatoes.

[standard] Many sell their own potatoes.

Watch for a redefining of standard English practice by the academic community. This issue is so pervasive that it may well alter the "standards" for polished English communication to an educated audience.