French Indefinite Pronouns


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Pronoms indéfinis

Indefinite pronouns are vague – they either refer to unspecific nouns or make sweeping generalizations.

Par exemple…

Si tu aimes cette idée, j’en ai d’autres.		If you like that idea, I have others.
Il y a quelque chose qui cloche.		There’s something amiss.

Characteristics of indefinite pronouns

Replace indefinite adjective + noun
Several are identical to French indefinite adjectives
May need to agree with the noun they replace in gender or number
May be subject, direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition

Masculine	Feminine
un autre	une autre	another one
d’autres	d’autres	others
certains	certaines	certain ones
chacun	chacune	each one
on		one, someone
plusieurs	plusieurs	several
quelque chose		something
quelqu’un		someone
quelques-uns	quelques-unes	some, a few
quiconque		anyone
soi		oneself
tel		someone, anyone
tout		everything
tout le monde		everyone
un	une	one

Using indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are a varied lot; there are a number of characteristics and rules that apply to some but not all of them.

Agreement

Un autre has to agree with the noun it replaces in number: when plural, it becomes d’autres.
Un autre, certains, chacun, quelques-uns, and un have to agree with the nouns they replace in gender.
The other indefinite pronouns are invariable.

Antecedent

Autre, d’autres, certains, chacun, plusieurs, and quelques-uns require an antecedent: a previously mentioned or implied noun that makes it obvious they are replacing.

J’ai trois enfants, et chacun fait son propre lit.		I have three kids, and each one makes his own bed.
Il a pris deux bières et une autre l’attend sur la table.		He’s had two beers and another is waiting for him on the table.

Quantity

Autre, d’autres, certains, plusieurs, and quelques-uns express quantities, and when they are the object of the verb, the adverbial pronoun en is required along with the indefinite pronoun to replace the noun.

Merci d’avoir répondu à ma question, mais j’en ai d’autres.		Thank you for answering my question, but I have others.
– J’ai oublié d’acheter les bougies ! – Pas de problème, j’en ai quelques-unes.		– I forgot to buy candles! – No problem, I have some.

Verb conjugations

Un autre, chacun, quelque chose, quelqu’un, quiconque, tel, tout, tout le monde, and un are singular and therefore always take the third person singular verb conjugation.

Tout le monde est arrivé sain et sauf.		Everyone arrived safe and sound.
Quelque chose ne va pas.		Something is wrong.

D’autres, certains, plusieurs, and quelques-uns are plural and take the third person plural.
On is a special case.

D’entre + pronoun / De + noun

Chacun, plusieurs, quelques-uns, and un can be followed by d’entre plus a plural stressed pronoun or by the preposition de plus a noun.

Chacun d’entre vous doit le remercier.		Each one of you has to thank him.
Une de mes amies est avocate.		One of my friends is a lawyer.

De + adjective

When quelque chose and quelqu’un are used with an adjective, the preposition de is required.

Quelque chose d’inattendu m’est arrivé.		Something unexpected happened to me.
J’ai vu quelqu’un de suspect.		I saw someone suspicious-looking.

Indefinite Pronouns

Pronoms indéfinis

Characteristics of indefinite pronouns