Indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns refer to a group of people or things whose number is not specified. Most can be used both independently and to qualify a noun, but a small group are only ever used independently. There are five Dutch equivalents of English all, which can be confusing for the learner.

(In)dependent indefinite pronouns

Most indefinite pronouns can be used both independently and to qualify a noun. Here are two examples of the latter, where andere (‘other’) qualifies steden (‘cities’), and sommige (‘some’) qualifies methoden. Note that they behave like adjectives and decline with the nouns they qualify.

Onderdak en vervoer kosten in Londen meer dan in andere Britse steden.
Accommodation and transport cost more in London than in other Britsish cities.

Uit onderzoek is gebleken dat sommige methoden van detectives te veel inbreuk maken op het privéleven van de onderzochte personen.
Research shows that some methods employed by detectives infringe too much on the private lives of the people under surveillance.

Ieder and elk (both meaning ‘each’) occur with singular nouns and behave like adjectives declining with the nouns they qualify. Iedere/elke is used when the noun it precedes is a de word and ieder/elk is used when the noun is a het word. In the two sayings below huisje is a het word, while vogel is a de word:

Ieder huisje heeft zijn kruisje.
Literally: Every house has its cross. = Every man has his cross to bear.

Elke vogel zingt zoals hij gebekt is.
Literally: Every bird sings as it has its beak. = A bird is known by its note and a man by his talk.

If an indefinite pronoun is used independently to refer to people, -n is added in writing (in standard spoken Dutch this -n is in fact hardly ever pronounced). If an indefinite pronoun is used independently to refer to objects or animals, there is no -n. In the first example below beiden is used because it refers to Richard Krajicek en Sjeng Schalken. In the second example sommige occurs without the end -n because it refers to dieren.

Richard Krajicek en Sjeng Schalken zijn er niet in geslaagd om de halve finales van Wimbledon te bereiken. Beiden trokken in een vijfsetter aan het kortste eind.
Richard Krajicek and Sjeng Schalken have not managed to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon. Both drew the shortest straw in a five set match.

Veel dieren waren gespecialiseerde planteneters, maar sommige ontwikkelden zich tot roofdieren.
Many animals were specialised plant eaters, but some developed into predators.

Independent impersonal pronouns

However, ssmall group of indefinite pronouns only occur on their own, most notably iedereen (‘everyone’), iemand (‘someone’), niemand (‘no-one’), iets (‘something’), niets (‘nothing’), alles (‘everything’, ‘all’) en men (‘one’ in the sense of ‘people in general’) .

Iemand moet de afwas doen!
Someone has to do the dishes!

Ik heb niemand gezien.
I haven’t seen anyone.

In Vlaanderen en Nederland spreekt men Nederlands.
In Flanders and the Netherlands people speak Dutch.

Dutch equivalents of all

There are five Dutch equivalents of all: alle, allen, allemaal, al and alles.

Alle

Alle is used before nouns, as in:

Alle openbare ruimtes, zoals balies, wachtruimtes en aankomst- en vertrekhallen zullen voortaan worden bewaakt.
All public areas, like desks, waiting areas and arrival and departure halls, will be guarded in future.

It is also used when referring independently to objects or animals, but in that use it is outdated. Use allemaal as an alternative:

De poezen liggen alle te slapen! 
De poezen liggen allemaal te slapen! 
The cats are all asleep.

Allen

Allen is used when referring independently to people. This independent use of allen sounds outdated. Use allemaal as an alternative:

Wij heten u allen welkom. 
Wij heten u allemaal welkom.
We welcom you all.

Not at all outdated, however, is the use of allen in the expressions geen van allen or met zijn allen:

Wij gaan met zijn allen op vakantie! 
We are going on holiday together!

Allemaal

Allemaal is the less formal equivalent of allen used independently and can refer to people, animals and objects. See the examples under alle(n) above.

Al

Al is used in front of nouns which are preceded by a definite article (the combination al de can replace alle) or a possessive pronoun:

Al de kinderen zijn buiten aan het spelen.
All the children are playing outside.

Leer Japan kennen in al zijn facetten.
Get to know Japan in all its facets.

Alles

Alles is best translated in English with ‘everything’:

Karin heeft alles opgegeten.
Karin has eaten everything.