You can refer to another person or thing without naming them.

The idea

Put else after an indefinite pronoun: someone else, anything else, or nobody else. It means another, additional, or different.

Examples

  • Someone else has the key.
  • Can anybody else join our team?
  • I need something else for the soup.
  • Is there anything else in the box?
  • Nobody else saw the bird.
  • We have nothing else to carry.

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Watch out

Do not put else before the pronoun: say someone else, not else someone.

Try it yourself

  1. Choose the correct option. Ask ___ to help. (someone else / else someone)

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    someone else

    someone else identifies a different person who can help.

  2. Choose the correct option. Would you like ___? (anything else / else anything)

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    anything else

    anything else asks whether the customer wants an additional thing.

  3. Choose the correct option. ___ called; no other person did. (Nobody else / Else nobody)

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    Nobody else

    Nobody else says no other person called.

  4. Choose the correct option. We need another thing: We need ___. (something else / else something)

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    something else

    something else identifies another thing that is needed.

Use it today

Choose the phrase that completes each sentence.