The pattern
Iemand, niemand and iedereen are about people; iets, niets and alles are about things. As a subject, all six take a singular verb, and an adjective after iets or niets usually gets an extra -s.
- Grammar calls these indefinite pronouns: words that stand for a person or thing without saying exactly who or what.
- People: iemand (someone, or anyone in a question), niemand (no one, not anyone), iedereen (everyone).
- Things: iets (something, or anything in a question), niets (nothing, not anything), alles (everything).
- Niks means the same as niets. It is everyday speech; in a formal email, write niets.
- The verb is singular, the form you use for one person or thing: Iedereen is moe. Alles is klaar.
- English "not ... anything" and "not ... anyone" usually become one Dutch word, with no extra niet: Ik heb niets gegeten (I haven't eaten anything), Ik zie niemand (I don't see anyone). Spanish speakers, take care: Ik zie niet niemand means something else, namely "it is not true that I see no one".
- Iets or niets plus adjective plus -s: iets leuks, niets nieuws. An adjective that already ends in -s stays as it is: iets fris (something fresh or refreshing). Informal wat (something) works the same way: wat lekkers. More in Iets leuks, niets nieuws.
Examples
| Er staat iemand voor de deur. | Someone is standing at the door. |
| Heeft iemand mijn paraplu gezien? | Has anyone seen my umbrella? |
| Er zit niemand in de wachtkamer. | There is no one in the waiting room. |
| Wil je iets drinken? | Would you like something to drink? |
| Ik heb vandaag nog niets gegeten. | I haven't eaten anything yet today. |
| Fatima heeft niks gezegd. | Fatima didn't say anything. |
| Iedereen is welkom op mijn verjaardag. | Everyone is welcome at my birthday party. |
| Alles is zo duur in de supermarkt. | Everything is so expensive at the supermarket. |
| Daan heeft iets leuks voor Sanne gekocht. | Daan has bought something nice for Sanne. |
| De huisarts heeft niets ernstigs gevonden. | The GP didn't find anything serious. |
Why it works this way
Look inside the words and they explain themselves. Iedereen is ieder (every) plus een (one): every single one. Like English everyone, it counts people one at a time, so the verb stays singular even when forty colleagues are at the Friday borrel (drinks). Alles packs everything into one big bundle, so it is singular too. If you really want a plural, use allemaal (all of us, all of them): We zijn er allemaal.
The -s after iets and niets is left over from an old ending that meant roughly "of". Iets leuks is a bit like "something of the nice kind". English has a similar idea in "something of interest"; Dutch just fits the "of" into one letter.
Remember: iets and niets end in -s, and they lend that -s to the adjective after them, unless it already has one: iets leuks, niets nieuws, but iets fris.
Watch out
NotIedereen zijn er.
SayIedereen is er.
iedereen means every single person, so the verb is singular
NotIk heb iets leuk gekocht.
SayIk heb iets leuks gekocht.
an adjective after iets gets -s
NotIk heb gezien niemand.
SayIk heb niemand gezien.
the participle gezien goes to the end, after niemand; see The verb bracket
NotAlle is goed.
SayAlles is goed.
on its own it is alles; alle needs a noun after it, as in alle kinderen
Quick check
- Fill in the present tense of zijn: Iedereen ... blij met het mooie weer.
- Fill in the right form of lekker: Mei heeft iets ... gekookt.
- Choose: Lotte heeft (alles / iedereen) uitgenodigd voor haar verjaardag.
- Remove one word so the sentence means "I don't know anyone in this street": Ik ken niet niemand in deze straat.
Show the answers
- is (iedereen takes a singular verb)
- lekkers (an adjective after iets gets -s)
- iedereen (you invite people, and iedereen is about people)
- Ik ken niemand in deze straat. (remove niet: niemand already means no one)
Use it today
Tonight, tell someone at home or at work about your day with iets or niets plus an adjective: Ik heb vandaag iets leuks gedaan or Ik heb vandaag niets bijzonders gedaan. Then ask back: En jij? Heb jij iets leuks gedaan?