Is everything understood?

For this grammar activity, the students have to complete sentences using the correct indefinite pronoun.

Add the following to the board and have the students work individually to complete the sentences.

1. John is living ____ in China.
2. I've done ____ on the list.
3. He heard ____ moving around in the trees.
4. Adam is very brave, ____ scares him.
5. ____ is going to David's party.
6. Is there ____ on TV tonight?
7. Mary didn't say ____ to us.
8. You can collect the children ____, I'll be here all day.
9. They sold ____ in the shop.
10. There's ____ at the door, you better answer it.

When finished, they should compare their answers with a partner.

Key
1. somewhere
2. everything
3. something
4. nothing
5. everyone
6. anything
7. anything
8. anytime
9. everything
10. someone

An interesting sentence

A pair-work writing activity where the students have to make sentences using indefinite pronouns and another arbitrary word.

Start by adding the following prompts to the board:

1. Something - lake
2. Anything - newspaper
3. Nothing - TV
4. Nobody - job
5. Everything - important
6. Anytime - campsite
7. Someone - sky
8. Everyone - boat
9. No one - homework

Next, split the group into pairs and tell them that they have to make sentences from these pairings. Encourage them to be as creative and funny as possible.

You could even turn this into a fun team game, where you give a point for the funniest sentence. If you decide to do that, award points as part of the next activity.

Sentence discussion

The students will discuss the sentences that they created during the previous task.

Following on from the previous activity, students discuss their sentences and provide corrections/improvements to the other groups. If you have decided to play this as a game, award points for the funniest sentence.

Hot seat: Indefinite pronouns 

Students will have to describe sentences that contain the target language to the player in the hot seat. 

Start by dividing the class into two teams. On each turn, one student will sit with their back to the board, facing their teammates. Write an indefinite pronoun, random word and tense on board behind the student in the hot seat. Their teammates must then describe the two words without explicitly saying them. Once the student in the hot seat has guessed the words correctly, they have to make a sentence that uses the pronoun and random word in the specified tense. Set a time limit if you wish. Below are some examples to get you going: 

1. nobody / works - Present continuous 
2. everything / eat - Past continuous 
3. someone / Spain - Present simple 
4. anytime / tiger - Future 
5. everybody / castle - Past simple