Would a young person be able to get a job in Europe? That would depend on which country he or she wanted to go to.
The student should feel that the essay belongs to him or her.
Some people use he and him in general statements or after indefinite pronouns, but many people object to this use because it suggests that the person being referred to is male.
Referring to a particular person or thing: this, that, these and those
1.124 When this, that, these, and those are used as pronouns, they are called demonstrative pronouns. They are used as the subject or the object of a clause, or the object of a preposition.
Demonstrative pronouns are rarely used as the indirect object of a clause, because the indirect object is usually a person, and demonstrative pronouns normally refer to things.
this and that
1.125 This and that are usually used as pronouns only when they refer to things. You use them instead of a singular countable noun or an uncountable noun. This refers to something that is close to you in place or time, and that refers to something that is more distant in place or time.
This is a list of the rules.
This is the most important part of the job.
The biggest problem was the accent. That was difficult for me.
That looks interesting.
1.126 This and that are used as pronouns to refer to a person when you are identifying someone or asking who they are.
Who’s this?
He stopped and looked at a photograph that stood on the dressing table. Is this your wife?
Was that Patrick on the phone?
When you are introducing people, you can say This is Mary or This is Mr and Mrs Baker. Note that you use this even when you are introducing more than one person.
these and those
1.127 These and those can be used as pronouns instead of a plural countable noun. They are most often used to refer to things, although they can be used to refer to people. These refers to a number of people and things that are close to you in place or time, and those refers to a number of people and things that are more distant in place or time.
‘I brought you these.’ Adam held out a bag of grapes.
Vitamin tablets usually contain vitamins A, C, and D. These are available from any child health clinic.
These are no ordinary students.
It may be impossible for them to pay essential bills, such as those for heating.
Those are easy questions to answer.
There are a lot of people who are seeking employment, and a great number of those are married women.
This, that, these, and those can also be definite determiners. For more information, see paragraphs 1.184 to 1.193. See also Referring back and Referring forward in Chapter 10.
Referring to people and things in a non-specific way: someone, anyone, everyone, etc.
1.128 When you want to refer to people or things but you do not know exactly who or what they are, or their identity is not important, you can use an indefinite pronoun such as someone, anyone, or everyone. An indefinite pronoun shows only whether you are talking about people or about things, rather than referring to a specific person or thing.
I was there for over an hour before anybody came.
Jack was waiting for something.
Here is a list of indefinite pronouns:
anybody
anyone
anything
everybody
everyone
everything
nobody
no one
nothing
somebody
someone
something
used only with singular verbs
1.129 You always use singular verbs with indefinite pronouns.
Is anyone here?
Everybody recognizes the importance of education.
Everything was ready.
Nothing is certain in this world.
referring to things
1.130 You use the indefinite pronouns ending in -thing to talk about objects, ideas, situations, or activities.
Can I do anything?
Jane said nothing for a moment.
referring to people
1.131 You use the indefinite pronouns ending in -one and -body to refer to people.
It had to be someone like Dan.
Why does everybody believe in the law of gravity?
Note that indefinite pronouns ending in -body are more frequent in informal English.
used with personal pronouns and possessive determiners
1.132 Although you use singular verbs with indefinite pronouns, if you want to refer back to an indefinite pronoun, you use the plural pronouns they, them, or themselves, or the possessive determiner their.
Ask anyone. They’ll tell you.
There’s no way of telling somebody why they’ve failed.
No one liked being young then as they do now.
Everybody’s enjoying themselves.
Everyone put their pens down.
See paragraph 1.123 for more information about they used to refer to one person.
1.133 In more formal English, some people prefer to use he, him, his, or himself to refer back to an indefinite pronoun, but many people dislike this use because it suggests that the person being referred to is male.
If someone consistently eats a lot of fatty foods, it is not surprising if he ends up with clogged arteries.