The indefinite pronouns ein- /kein- /welch-

einer, eine, ein(e)s

Meaning : It refers to a non-specific person or thing that has already been mentioned.

Function : It is only used as a pronoun in the place of a noun.

The pronoun einer, eine, ein(e)s is inflected as follows.

Notes :

1. The pronoun einer, eine, ein(e)s is often followed by a noun in the genitive case or von + dative. In this case, the pronoun refers to a single person or unit in a group of similar persons or things.

2. To emphasize the indefiniteness, the pronoun einer, eine, ein(e)s can be combined with the word "irgend-" (irgendeiner).

3. The masculine type nominative of einer can be used with the same meaning as the pronoun man. In the dative and the accusative the masculine types of einer are used anyway, since man only has a nominative case.

kein, keine, kein

Meaning : it means nicht ein, it's the negation of ein.

Function : It can be used either as an article or a pronoun in the place of a noun.

As an article, it is inflected as follows.

As a pronoun, it is inflected as follows.

Notes :

1. The pronoun keiner, keine, kein(e)s is often followed by a noun in the genitive case or von + dative. In this case, the pronoun refers to a single person or unit in a group of similar persons or things.

2. As an article kein, keine, kein can be used with uncountable nouns.

3. The masculine type keiner can have the meaning of niemand.

welcher, welche, welches

Meaning : it indicates an indefinite set of things and refers to a noun already mentioned.

Function: it is only used as a pronoun in the place of a noun.

The pronoun welcher, welche, welches is inflected as follows.

Notes on the use of ein-, kein-, welch-

As one can see in the table above, the pronoun einer does not have any plural number types, even for uncountable nouns. Instead, the types of the welch- are used.