Indefinite pronouns
Use man, jemand, niemand, etwas, and nichts.
The rule
Man takes a singular verb; its object forms are einen and einem. Jemand and niemand refer to people, while etwas and nichts refer to things.
man · jemand/niemand · etwas/nichts · alle/manche/einige
man is always a third-person singular subject and has object forms einen and einem.
jemand and niemand may take case endings, especially in careful writing.
etwas and nichts refer to nonspecific things and do not decline.
Core forms and structures
Use this table as a reference, then retrieve the forms without looking.
| Form | Function | German example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pattern 1 | Indefinite man is lowercase and takes singular agreement. | Man muss hier leise sein. | One must be quiet here. |
| Pattern 2 | Jemand is the nominative subject; mir is dative. | Kann mir jemand helfen? | Can someone help me? |
| Pattern 3 | Accusative niemand commonly takes -en. | Ich habe niemanden gesehen. | I saw nobody. |
| Pattern 4 | Etwas refers to a nonspecific thing. | Möchtest du etwas trinken? | Would you like something to drink? |
| Pattern 5 | A plural people reference uses einige and plural sind. | Einige sind schon gegangen. | Some have already left. |
German examples with English meanings
Man muss hier leise sein.
One must be quiet here.
Indefinite man is lowercase and takes singular agreement.
Kann mir jemand helfen?
Can someone help me?
Jemand is the nominative subject; mir is dative.
Ich habe niemanden gesehen.
I saw nobody.
Accusative niemand commonly takes -en.
Möchtest du etwas trinken?
Would you like something to drink?
Etwas refers to a nonspecific thing.
Einige sind schon gegangen.
Some have already left.
A plural people reference uses einige and plural sind.
Common mistakes
Incorrect: Mann muss hier leise sein.
Correct: Man muss hier leise sein.
Indefinite man is lowercase and takes singular agreement.
Incorrect: Kann mich jemandem helfen?
Correct: Kann mir jemand helfen?
Jemand is the nominative subject; mir is dative.
Incorrect: Ich habe niemand gesehenen.
Correct: Ich habe niemanden gesehen.
Accusative niemand commonly takes -en.
Incorrect: Möchtest du jemand trinken?
Correct: Möchtest du etwas trinken?
Etwas refers to a nonspecific thing.
Incorrect: Einiges sind schon gegangen.
Correct: Einige sind schon gegangen.
A plural people reference uses einige and plural sind.
Details and useful distinctions
Plural pronouns such as alle, manche, einige, wenige take plural verb agreement.
Practise this grammar
Classify the missing reference as generic person, specific unknown person, thing, or plural group; then apply case and agreement.
Open Indefinite pronouns exercises →
For source references and editorial level notes, see the grammar reference. You can report a correction if an explanation or example seems wrong.