jemand

Jemand is a German indefinite pronoun used to refer to an unspecified person, roughly equivalent to "someone" or "somebody" in English. It denotes a single, nonspecific individual and is used in both formal and informal contexts. The pronoun is singular and can function as the subject or object of a sentence.

Inflection and usage: The base form is jemand. In sentences it is declined for cases: nominative jemand (often written as "jemand" in the middle of a sentence), accusative jemanden, and dative jemandem. The genitive form exists as "jemandes" but is rarely used; in most contexts speakers prefer periphrastic alternatives such as "von jemandem" or other noun phrases.

Examples:

- Jemand klopft an der Tür.

- Ich habe jemanden gesehen.

- Ich helfe jemandem beim Umzug.

- Das Auto gehört jemandem.

Relations and nuances: Jemand is gender-neutral and common in everyday language, especially when the speaker does not know or does not wish to specify who is involved. It stands in contrast to niemand, which means nobody, and to irgendjemand (or einer Person), which intensifies the sense of an unspecified person. The expression ist auch in idioms and common phrases, such as "jemandem einen Gefallen tun" (to do someone a favor).

See also: Indefinite pronouns in German; niemand; irgendjemand; von jemandem.