Grammar Pronoun- Lesson Twelve- Someone Pronoun Definition
In this grammar lesson, you learn about Someone Pronoun definition in English and how to use it in your English conversation and writing. Just follow examples and write them down a few times to learn them very well. After finishing this lesson, you should work on its quiz.
Grammar Recap
In our previous lesson, we covered the What Type of Pronoun is Everyone If you just landed on this page, we suggest that you complete our previous lesson including its quizzes before continuing on this lesson.
Requirement Lessons
There is no required lessons for working and learning this lesson.
Someone is What Type of Pronoun
(indefinite pronouns)
singular
| subject | object | possessive adjective | possessive pronoun | reflexive pronoun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
someone somebody
|
someone somebody |
someone’s somebody’s
|
someone’s somebody’s
|
X
|
Use “someone” or “somebody” when you don’t know the identity of a person. These pronouns are always used when talking about one person.
subject = someone or somebody
Someone is swimming in the pool. Who is it?
Somebody cleaned the pool earlier.
We often use “someone” or “somebody” when we don’t know who a person is, or we don’t know who did something.
someone / somebody
object = someone or somebody
I asked somebody for directions to the closest metro station.
We paid someone to drive us to the airport.
possessive adjective = someone’s or somebody’s
Someone’s artwork won third prize.
This is a picture of somebody’s cat.
This is someone’s artwork.
possessive pronoun = someone’s or somebody’s
A: Whose goat is that?
B: It’s somebody’s, but I don’t know whose.
This is someone’s goat.
reflexive pronoun = 0
Remember:
There are a few important things to consider when using these pronouns:
1. There’s really no difference between the words “someone” and “somebody.”
2. In the present tense, ‘s is often used as a contraction for “is” and “has”:
Someone’s at the door. (Someone is…)
Somebody’s eaten all the pizza. (Somebody has…)
3. When “someone” is an antecedent, many people use “their” or “his” or “her” because there is no gender neutral singular pronoun in English. The easiest thing to do is to use a plural pronoun:
Someone left their jacket. (This is not correct grammatically, but everyone does it.)
Somebody forgot his coat. (To avoid the problem in the previous example, assign a gender to the person in question. Sometimes you know if it’s a man or a woman.)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercise 12
Write these sentences and questions in your notebook. Fill in the blanks with….
someone someone’s his her
1. The police are talking to __________.
2. Is __________ sitting here?
3. __________ dog is in our backyard.
4. __________ singing.
5. One of the customers forgot __________ purse.
6. It’s __________ responsibility to take care of this mess.
7. This must belong to __________.
8. Was ___________ knocking at the door?
9. He’s not happy about __________ grades.
10. __________ been sleeping in my bed.
Answers: 1. someone; 2. someone; 3. Someone’s; 4. Someone’s; 5. her; 6. someone’s; 7. someone; 8. someone; 9. his; 10. Someone’s
Private Lessons in English
If you need help with quizzes of this lesson, you can hire one of our expert private English teachers by going to our Private English Tutoring page and submit a request. When submitting your request, make sure to mention the grammar level and lesson number.
Next Grammar Lesson
In our next lesson, we will cover the Anyone Pronoun Grammar Before moving to the next lesson, we suggest that you complete this lesson including its quizzes.
Related Grammar Lessons
None
Grammar Pronoun Outline
If you wish to explore all lessons that are covered in HiCafe Grammar Pronoun, you can visit the Review of English Pronoun Words page.
Practice English Grammar Skills
For a comprehensive practice of English grammar with quizzes, you can visit the Improve English Grammar Skills page to view HiCafe 250 grammar lessons in 7 levels plus prepositions and pronouns.
