Indefinites

Indefinites are linguistic expressions used to refer to non-specific persons, places, things, or amounts. They contrast with definites, which point to a fixed referent in the discourse. Indefinites can introduce new information, generalize, or convey approximate quantities, and they often interact with context, negation, and questions.

Indefinite articles designate non-specific singular nouns in languages with articles; in English, a and an appear in sentences like I saw a dog. Indefinite pronouns can stand on their own, such as someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, something, anything, nothing, and everything, serving as subjects or objects. Indefinite determiners and quantifiers modify nouns to express non-specificity or quantity, as in some people, any book, several options, few details, many ideas, and enough time. Indefinite adverbs or locatives, such as somewhere or anywhere, indicate non-specific places.

Semantically, indefinites provide non-specific references and may carry existential readings (there exists someone/something) or non-referential readings that do not identify a particular entity. They often interact with polarity and scope: for example, any tends to appear in questions or negative contexts, while some/these readings can be preferred in affirmative statements. The placement of indefinites within a sentence can affect their scope with other quantifiers or operators.

Cross-linguistic variation shows that some languages have articles specifically marking indefiniteness, others rely on bare nouns, and some use partitive constructions or special pronouns. Indefinites are a fundamental tool for introducing new information, expressing generality, and signaling approximate quantities across languages.