Onbepaalde voornaamwoorden verwijzen naar personen of zaken zoals iemand, niets, alle, zonder specifiek te zijn.

(Indefinite pronouns refer to persons or things such as iemand, niets, alle, without being specific.)

  1. The indefinite pronoun al is used with an indefinite whole.
  2. Iemand and niemand refer to persons
  3. Iets and niets refer to things or animals.
Gebruik (Use)Voornaamwoord (Pronoun)Voorbeeldzin (Example sentence)
Bijvoeglijk (Adjectival)al/alle (al/alle)

Al haar boeken liggen op tafel. (All her books are on the table.)

Alle dieren zijn gevoerd. (All animals have been fed.)

Zelfstandig (Nominal)iedereen (everyone)Iedereen was bang van de tijger. (Everyone was afraid of the tiger.)
iemand (someone)Is er iemand die de leeuw wil voeren? (Is there someone who wants to feed the lion?)
niemand (no one)Niemand zag de olifant. (No one saw the elephant.)
iets (something)Hij hoorde iets in de jungle. (He heard something in the jungle.)
niets (nothing)We zagen niets in de woestijn door al het zand. (We saw nothing in the desert because of all the sand.)
menMen zegt dat de olifanten slim zijn. (One says that the elephants are clever.)

Exceptions!

  1. Men is only used as a subject, and always in the singular.
  2. Alle is used with plural nouns.

Exercise 1: Onbepaalde voornaamwoorden (zoals iemand, niemand, alles)

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

niets, Iedereen, iets, iemand, Men, Alle

1.
... dieren in de jungle zijn wild en snel.
(All animals in the jungle are wild and fast.)
2.
... wilde met de olifanten mee.
(Everyone wanted to go with the elephants.)
3.
... zegt dat de leeuw 's nachts actief is.
(It is said that the lion is active at night.)
4.
Er beweegt ... in de verte in de woestijn.
(Something moves in the distance in the desert.)
5.
Ze zei dat ze ... had gezien.
(She said she had seen nothing.)
6.
Er stond ... bij het hek van de giraffen.
(There was someone standing by the giraffe enclosure.)

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct sentence in which the indefinite pronoun is used correctly.

1.
'No one' is not conjugated with '-s'; this form is incorrect.
The ending '-e' does not belong to indefinite pronouns like 'no one' and is incorrect.
2.
'Every' is used with singular nouns and is not used directly with a possessive pronoun like 'her'.
Use 'All' here, not 'Every'; 'Every' is incorrect in combination with 'her'.
3.
'Nothing' means 'not anything'; combined with 'ran' this sentence is illogical because 'nothing' cannot run.
'Someone' refers to a person and is inappropriate here if a non-person is meant.
4.
'That' does not belong in plural lists; 'those' must be used here for the correct form.
'This' and 'that' are attributive pronouns and cannot be used independently here without a noun.

Exercise 3: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the sentences using the correct indefinite pronoun (al, alle, iedereen, iemand, niemand, iets, niets, men). Note whether they refer to people or things.

Show/Hide translation Show/Hide hints
  1. Hint Hint (alle) De studenten luisteren goed naar de docent.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Alle studenten luisteren goed naar de docent.
    (All the students listen carefully to the teacher.)
  2. Hint Hint (alle) De collegas hebben vragen over de nieuwe computer.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Alle collegas hebben vragen over de nieuwe computer.
    (All the colleagues have questions about the new computer.)
  3. Hint Hint (iedereen) De mensen in dit bedrijf krijgen één keer per jaar een evaluatiegesprek.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Iedereen in dit bedrijf krijgt één keer per jaar een evaluatiegesprek.
    (Everyone at this company receives a performance review once a year.)
  4. Hint Hint (iemand) Er is een persoon die je kan helpen met de belasting.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Er is iemand die je kan helpen met de belastingaangifte.
    (There is someone who can help you with your tax return.)
  5. Hint Hint (niets) In deze vergaderruimte ligt geen document op tafel.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    In deze vergaderruimte ligt niets op tafel.
    (There is nothing on the table in this meeting room.)
  6. In Nederland zeggen mensen dat werk en privé in balans moeten zijn.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    In Nederland zegt men dat werk en privé in balans moet zijn.
    (In the Netherlands people say that work and private life should be in balance.)

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Kato De Paepe

Business and languages

KdG University of Applied Sciences and Arts Antwerp

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Last Updated:

Tuesday, 06/01/2026 05:53