Indefinite Pronouns ESL Activities, Games & Worksheets
Find Someone Who...
ESL Indefinite Pronouns Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Gap-fill, Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice
Here is a free indefinite pronouns speaking activity in which students ask and answer questions that contain indefinite pronouns. Working alone, students complete items on the worksheet with indefinite...
Indefinite Pronoun Race
ESL Indefinite Pronouns Running Dictation - Vocabulary and Speaking Activity: Running Dictation, Gap-fill - Pair Work
In this engaging indefinite pronouns running dictation activity, students race to dictate two stories and then use them to complete a reworded version of each story with indefinite pronouns. The student with...
Let's Learn Indefinite Pronouns
ESL Indefinite Pronouns Worksheet - Grammar and Vocabulary Exercises: Identifying, Categorising, Gap-fill, Unscrambling, Writing Sentences
This comprehensive indefinite pronouns worksheet helps students learn and practice a variety of indefinite pronouns. Students start by finding and circling...
Say Something!
ESL Indefinite Pronouns Game - Vocabulary and Grammar: Matching, Sentence Completion - Group Work
In this fun indefinite pronouns game, students race to complete sentences with indefinite pronouns. In groups of three, students take it in turns to pick up a card and read the sentence aloud to the...
Is it true for you?
ESL Indefinite Pronouns Activity - Speaking: Gap-fill, Guided Discussion, Freer Practice - Pair Work
In this interesting indefinite pronouns speaking activity, students complete statements with indefinite pronouns and then discuss the statements with a partner, saying whether they are true for...
I've Got a Question
ESL Indefinite Pronouns Board Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Gap-fill, Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Pair Work
In this productive indefinite pronouns board game, students complete conversation questions with suitable indefinite pronouns and ask them to a partner...
Understanding Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns are words like 'someone,' 'anything,' and 'nowhere' that refer to people, things, or places without identifying them specifically. Students who mix up the positive and negative forms, writing 'I didn't see nobody' instead of 'I didn't see anybody,' produce double negatives that confuse the meaning and mark their grammar as unreliable.
This page covers indefinite pronouns at B1 and B2 levels, with six activities including a card game, a running dictation, a board game, and two speaking activities, with one free download available.
The 12 core indefinite pronouns in English divide into four prefix groups and three categories based on what they refer to.
| Category | Some- | Any- | No- | Every- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People | someone / somebody | anyone / anybody | no one / nobody | everyone / everybody |
| Places | somewhere | anywhere | nowhere | everywhere |
| Things | something | anything | nothing | everything |
When to Use Indefinite Pronouns
Talking about unknown people: A speaker uses indefinite pronouns when they want to refer to a person without knowing or revealing who that person is, so someone describing an overheard conversation would say 'someone told me' rather than naming the source.
Making general statements: Writers and speakers choose 'everyone' or 'everything' when a statement applies to all members of a group without exception, so a manager wrapping up a meeting might say 'Is everyone clear on the next steps?' rather than listing each person by name.
Expressing absence or negation: Negative indefinite pronouns let a speaker state that nothing or no one fits a description, which is more direct and emphatic than using 'not any,' so a job candidate might say 'I have nothing to hide' rather than 'I don't have anything to hide' to sound more confident and decisive.
3-Step Framework for Teaching Indefinite Pronouns
1. Build the Full Picture First: Open with a worksheet that covers a comprehensive list of indefinite pronouns before students start producing them. Students work through a clear sequence: they find and circle pronouns in sentences, sort them into the three categories of people, places, and things, and finish by writing their own sentences using two pronouns from each category.
2. Drill Recognition with a Fast-Paced Card Game: Follow with a competitive card game where a reader picks up a sentence card and reads it aloud using the word 'blank' for the missing pronoun, for example 'I lost my mobile phone. I've looked for it BLANK.' The other two players race to grab the correct pronoun card first and say it aloud to claim the sentence.
3. Push into Freer Production with a Board Game: Close with a board game where students land on squares containing conversation questions with gaps, fill in the correct indefinite pronoun, then ask the question to their partner, who answers in full sentences with reasons. A student who cannot complete the question correctly goes back to their previous square.
Common Mistakes with Indefinite Pronouns
Double negative with negative indefinite pronouns: Students often combine a negative verb with a negative indefinite pronoun, producing a double negative that is not standard in English. Wrong: 'She doesn't know nothing about it.' Correct: 'She doesn't know anything about it.'
Using 'someone' in questions and negatives: Students often use 'someone' or 'something' in questions and negative sentences when 'anyone' or 'anything' is required, because they translate directly from their first language. Wrong: 'Did you see someone last night?' Correct: 'Did you see anyone last night?'
Common Questions About Teaching Indefinite Pronouns
What is a good speaking activity for practicing indefinite pronouns?
The free activity Find Someone Who... is a strong choice because indefinite pronouns appear naturally in the questions students ask each other. Students prepare yes/no questions like 'Did you lose something recently?' then move around the class finding classmates whose answers match, noting down names and follow-up details as they go.
What is a fun indefinite pronouns activity?
The activity Indefinite Pronoun Race gets students on their feet, which is what makes it engaging. Partners take turns running to read a story, memorizing as much as they can before racing back to dictate it. Their partner then uses the dictated text to complete a reworded version of the story with indefinite pronouns from a box.
How can I get students to use indefinite pronouns in an engaging way?
The activity Is it true for you? gives indefinite pronouns a genuine personal context, which is what makes it engaging. Students complete statements with indefinite pronouns from a box, then discuss each statement with a partner, saying whether it is true for them and why. Afterwards they report back to the class on what they found out.
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