A pronoun is a type of word whose referent is determined according to the relationship it forges with other terms, which generally have already been named. The indefinite , meanwhile, is not defined.
Indefinite pronouns , in this framework, are those that reflect a degree or quantity in an indeterminate way. Furthermore, they can refer to entities that are not specified by the speakers, also receiving the name of indeterminate pronouns .
In the case of indefinite pronouns, in this way, the referent lacks definiteness . The reference they make has no precision , but only refers to a certain class.
An example of an indefinite pronoun is something . This word does not change depending on gender, which is why it is classified as neutral. Through this pronoun, quantities that are not specified are expressed: «I remember some of what happened, but not everything» , «Are you hungry? "There is still some meat left," "Juan always has some money in his pocket, let's ask him to lend us some pesos."
Too much y quite son otros pronombres indefinidos que se asocian a cantidades o degrees: «I haven't played this sport in too long! "I don't even remember the rules anymore.", «I am quite worried about the economic situation of the country».
Some y some, por otra parte, pueden referirse a cosas, animales y personas. Someone, a seres humanos: "I don't know if there are any books in this house that I haven't read yet...", "Some dogs tried to reach the car without success", «I noticed that someone had been in my house when they found my drawers open and rummaged».
There are several more indefinite pronouns, which we can explore through different practical examples. To do this, we will mention them little by little, referring to their degree of variation in gender and number, which can be total, partial or null. Let's start with those who fall into the group of those who vary both in gender and number; Without repeating those that we have already studied in the previous paragraphs, we are left with the following: another, a lot, a little, everything, so much and true .
Before moving forward, we must point out that there is a very important difference between indefinite pronouns that always fulfill the function of pronouns and those that only do so in sentences in which they are not accompanied by a noun (these are called indefinite discourse pronouns ). In the first case there are, among others, nobody, something and someone ; In the second everything stands out, little and quite a bit . Although this may seem difficult to understand at first, to know what type of pronoun we are dealing with, just ask if it is possible to combine it with a noun.
In fact, the words some, a, any and none are the shortened forms of the pronouns some, one, any and none , which is why they do not act in the same way but must be accompanied by nouns.
Let's take the case of another , which is the first on the list of those that vary in gender and number. When does it act as a pronoun, properly speaking? In the following sentences: "I asked the other one, but he didn't answer me," "We were stopping at the other one, and it was quite comfortable," "The others were very well prepared, so the confrontation was very demanding." As can be seen in the three sentences, the word is not complemented by any noun , which is why it serves as a pronoun. The following case would be different: "I asked the other man" , in which "other" is an adjective.
Among those who do not present gender variation we can mention such, anyone and whoever . Those that do not vary in number are several, none and both . The invariables are more, less, others, nothing and nobody .