Wondering how to say “There’s nobody in the room”, or “Is there anyone?” We’re here to help you say somebody, anybody, and nobody in French.
Stick with us.
How to say Somebody in French ?
In French, we use quelqu’un to say somebody.
Quelqu is the abbreviation of the indefinite adjective quelque and it’s never used on its own.
It is only used in quelqu’unandquelqu’une. The contracted forms of quelque un and quelque une – is mandatory here, you can never write or say quelque un.
It’s never enough to mention that French differs from English in terms of concordance. In French, somebody is an indefinite pronoun and has four different forms, masculine, feminine, singular, and plural.
Let’s take a look at all the forms of somebody in French :
- quelqu’un – masculine, singular
- quelqu’une – feminine, singular
- quelqu’uns – masculine, plural
- quelqu’unes – feminine, plural
The plural form corresponds to few or some.
When to use Quelqu’un ?
Quelqu’un means “someone” and it can either be used :
- to designate some indeterminate person
Il y a quelqu’un ?
Is someone there?
- to designate a determined person
C’est quelqu’un de bien.
She/he is a good person. literally “This is someone good.”
In this case, you cannot use quelqu’une for this, even if the person is feminine.
- to designate an indeterminated person among others
Both forms can be used in this case /Quelqu’unandquelqu’une
Quelqu’une de ces personnes est coupable .
“Someone among these people is guilty”.
- A small, indeterminate number of people or things in a group.
Quelques-uns parmi eux avaient beaucoup voyagé.
Some of them had traveled a lot.
Examples with quelqu’un in French
In affirmative sentences, quelqu’un means someone/somebody
Il y a quelqu’un à la maison.
There is somebody at home.
Quelqu’un sonne à la porte.
Somebody is ringing at the door.
Il se prend pour quelqu’un.
He thinks he is somebody.
Il connait quelques unes de ces personnes.
He knows a few of these people.
Quelques uns de tes amis sont venus cet après-midi.
Some of your friends came after this afternoon.
Learning indefinite pronouns is possible even with music. Let’s enjoy the lyrics of Carla Bruni.
Anybody
English Anybody corresponds to two different words in French
- quelqu’un
- n’importe qui
When anybody actually refers to somebody.
S’il y a quelqu’un, aidez-moi.
Is anybody out there?
Il y a quelqu’un ?
Anybody here?
Quelqu’un veut une boisson?
Anybody want a drink ?
If anybody means no matter who, we say it n’importe qui.
N’importe qui pourrait le faire.
Anybody could do it.
N’importe qui mais pas Peter.
Anybody but Peter.
Elle n’est pas n’importe qui, c’est ton patron.
She is not anybody, she’s your boss.
Nobody
Personne -nobody
Il n’entend personne.
He hears no one.
Il y a personne.
There is nobody.
Personne ne le sait.
Nobody knows.
Quelqu’un in Questions
Quelqu’un a vu mes clés?
Has anyone seen my keys?
A Quick Recap
English French
Someone/ Somebody – Quelqu’un
Anybody – Quelqu’un / N’importe qui
Nobody – Personne
Somebody Speaks French here?
Hey French folks, is there anyone who still thinks saying somebody, anybody and nobody in French is difficult? We are sure there is no one left.