Improve your English in the Reading Rooms
Listen and write
Aqua Level
Lesson Twelve
someone and somebody
(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
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
|
metro station | |
possessive adjective = someone’s or somebody’s
|
This is someone’s artwork. | |
possessive pronoun = someone’s or somebody’s
|
This is someone’s goat. | |
reflexive pronoun = 0
| X | |
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.)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Aqua Level 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.
Next: Lesson Thirteen
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