Negative pronoun
Definition
A negative pronoun refers to no person, thing or member of a group. Common forms include nobody, no one, nothing, neither and none. These pronouns carry negative meaning without a separate not.
Examples
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Nobody answered the door.
Nobody means no person.
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Nothing was damaged.
Nothing means no thing.
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Neither of the keys works.
Neither means not one and not the other of two.
Negative pronoun vs. no + noun
Nobody called.
Nobody stands alone as the subject.
No customer called.
No determines the noun customer rather than replacing it.
A pronoun replaces a noun phrase. Determiner no appears before a noun.
Agreement depends on the pronoun
Nobody, no one, nothing and neither are normally singular. None can take singular or plural agreement depending on meaning and style.
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No one knows the answer.
No one takes a singular verb.
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None of the documents are signed.
Plural agreement is common when none means not any of several items.
Common mistakes
Nobody did not call.
Nobody called.
The pronoun nobody already carries negative meaning.
No one know the answer.
No one knows the answer.
No one is grammatically singular.
Quick check
Question 1 of 3
Which sentence uses a negative pronoun correctly?
Nothing carries the negative meaning and functions as the subject.Which sentence has correct subject–verb agreement?
Nobody is grammatically singular, so the verb is knows.Which sentence uses no as a determiner rather than a pronoun?
No appears before the noun visitor, so it functions as a determiner.Nice work — you've completed the quick check.
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