Question

Choose the correct indefinite pronoun from the options given below:
If ____ wants that piece of cake, I’ll have it.
a. someone
b. anyone
c. no one
d. anybody

Answer 1

Hint:Read the sentence and understand what it wants to convey. Go through the options and recall what they signify. Now, choose the one which fits the context of the sentence and is also grammatically correct.

Complete answer: Indefinite pronouns do not refer to a specific person, place, or thing. In English, there is a particular group of indefinite pronouns formed with a quantifier or distributive preceded by any, some, every and no.
We can correctly infer the following:
-The prefix ‘every’ refers to all of the noun, all parts.
-The prefix ‘some’ is used to refer to a part, but in a positive sense.
-The prefix ‘any’ is also used to refer to a part, but in a negative sense.
-The prefix ‘no’ is used to refer to no part of the noun.

In the given sentence, the first blank is right after ‘if’. This can be followed by any pronoun.
So, we should look at the context.. The blank is just after the word ‘if’ says that they bought one for themselves, which means not a single person wanted it. So, this means that the pronoun should have the prefix ‘no’.
Now, we know what we are looking for. Let’s go through the given options:
a. someone - This word has the prefix ‘some’. This is an incorrect prefix for the context of the given sentence and it does not fit into the blank. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b. anyone - This word has the prefix ‘any’. This is an incorrect prefix for the context of the given sentence and it does not fit into the blank. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c. no one - This word has the prefix ‘no’. This is the correct prefix for the context of the given sentence and it fits into the blank. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
d. anybody - This word has the prefix ‘any’. This is an incorrect prefix for the context of the given sentence and it does not fit into the blank. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
Therefore, option c is correct.

Note: The word ‘anybody/anyone’ is used to refer to both an open, unlimited set of things or people and specific things or people. The word ‘no one/nobody’ is used to mean no person; not a single person. The word ‘somebody’ is used to refer to an unspecified person.