Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns let you refer to a person or thing without identifying it exactly. Catalan distinguishes existence (algú “someone”), absence (ningú, res), totality (tothom), distribution (cadascú), free choice (qualsevol), and other people (altri). The difficult part is not memorizing translations; it is learning how polarity, singular agreement, prepositions, and register shape each form.

The seven core forms

All seven are strong forms rather than verbal clitics. They do not apostrophize or attach with a hyphen. A neighboring clitic has its own function: in No *li expliquis res, dative *li represents the recipient, whereas res is the thing not to be explained.

Algú: asserting an unidentified person

Algú says that at least one person exists, though the speaker does not identify that person.

In a question, algú is often neutral or suggests that some person may fit: Ha trucat algú? “Did someone call?” Catalan has no direct equivalent of English unstressed “any” across all contexts, so the negative and interrogative alternatives matter.

If a previously mentioned set is partitive, en may represent it:

Here en means “of them.” It is not part of algú, and it cannot be omitted if that explicit partitive connection is what the sentence must express.

Ningú and res: polarity changes the English translation

After the verb, ningú and res require preverbal no in a negative clause.

When a negative word comes before the verb, it already licenses a negative reading. Standard Catalan permits no to be omitted, but retaining it is more usual in formal prose.

This is negative concord, not two logical negatives. English normally uses only one negative form (“nobody knew”), whereas Catalan can combine preverbal ningú/res with no and still express one negation. See negative words for the wider system with cap, mai, enlloc, and gens.

In questions, conditions, and comparisons, ningú and res can have a nonnegative “any-” value.

Tothom versus cadascú

Both refer to all people, but they view the group differently. Tothom treats everyone collectively; cadascú distributes a responsibility, possession, or choice person by person.

Both take singular verbs: tothom està, cadascú ha. English singular “everyone” behaves similarly, but English singular “they/their” may conceal the distributive logic. Catalan normally uses a singular possessive in cadascú ha de portar *el seu got*.

Do not confuse invariable human cadascú with cadascun/cadascuna de, which selects individual members from an explicit group: cadascuna de les participants. The distinction is real and partly lexical; there is no reliable reason to infer it from English “each” alone.

Qualsevol: unrestricted choice

As a standalone pronoun, qualsevol means that identity does not matter: “anyone” or “any one.” It is singular in examples such as qualsevol ho pot fer.

That second sentence shows that scope matters. Qualsevol ho pot fer grants free choice; no ho pot fer qualsevol rejects the claim that every arbitrary person is suitable. Word order, stress, and context do work that English may express with “not just any.”

When plural reference is explicit, the standard plural is qualssevol, not qualsevols: Tria'n dos qualssevol. This use is less frequent than singular pronominal qualsevol but follows the same irregular morphology as the determiner.

Altri: other people as a prepositional complement

Altri is restricted to formal, legal, administrative, and set expressions. It refers to another person or other people and occurs as part of a prepositional phrase, most often with de or per.

In ordinary conversation, say d'una altra persona, dels altres, or d'algú altre. Using altri as a casual subject—intended to mean simply “someone else”—sounds archaizing and is outside its normal contemporary pattern.

Prepositions and personal direct objects

These pronouns can follow any preposition required by their function: amb algú, de ningú, per a tothom, segons cadascú. With human direct objects, a is possible before pronominal quantifiers such as ningú, tothom, cadascú, and qualsevol, especially where it aids clarity. With algú, it is optional when the pronoun selects a member of a known set—Podria perjudicar (a) algú del teu equip—but is normally omitted when no such set is understood: Segur que coneixes algú que ens pot ajudar. Usage varies, and omission is also common when there is no ambiguity.

Do not turn that permission into a Spanish-style rule for every human noun phrase. He saludat la directora remains the ordinary unmarked pattern. The issue is the pronominal nature and information structure of these indefinites, not merely whether the referent is a person.

In dialogue and with nonfinite verbs

The antecedent is unambiguous: algú/ningú refer to callers, while la Laia is the person asked for. The pair also shows how Catalan naturally switches from open algú in the question to negative ningú in the answer.

Indefinite pronouns can be arguments of an infinitive without changing form:

The negative-like value of res is licensed by sense. No extra no belongs inside sense prometre res.

Regional note

The core forms are pan-Catalan. (regional: Balearic and Northern Catalan) qualcú is a living regional equivalent of algú, alongside determiner qualque. It is standard where native to the variety, but learners following a Central baseline should actively use algú and recognize qualcú. Valencian, Northwestern, Northern, Balearic, and Alguerese speech also vary in surrounding clitic and verb forms; this does not alter the polarity rules described here.

Common Mistakes

1. Giving tothom a plural verb.

2. Omitting no before a postverbal negative pronoun.

3. Treating res as a quantity word equivalent to gens.

4. Confusing cadascú with a member-of-group form.

5. Forming the plural qualsevols.

Key Takeaways

Keep tothom and cadascú singular; reserve cadascú for distributive human reference. Use ningú and res with the Catalan system of negative concord, choose qualsevol for genuinely unrestricted identity, and recognize altri as a formal prepositional form. Finally, supply en or another clitic only when Catalan syntax independently requires it—not as part of the English translation.