They both were arguing.

[Rollercoaster1]

Is the sentence grammatically correct, and is 'both' an indefinite pronoun in the example?

They both were arguing.

 

[emsr2d2]

If "they" are Peter and Tom, and Peter is arguing with Tom, then say "They were arguing". That's it. You could say "They were arguing with each other" but the last three words are unnecessary. In that context, "both" is redundant.

However, if "they" are Peter and Tom, and Peter is arguing with Helen and Tom was arguing with Nigel, you could say "They were both arguing" but you'd have to go on and explain who was arguing with who. Note that the word order I have used is much more natural than that in post #1 - I won't go so far as to say you won't hear "They both were ...", but it's not common.

 

[Tdol]

Collins call it an emphasising pronoun in this case: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/both

 

[emsr2d2]

Out of curiosity, Rollercoaster1, is there any reason why you used "fighting" in the thread title but "arguing" in the actual post?

 

[Rollercoaster1]

Out of curiosity, Rollercoaster1, is there any reason why you used "fighting" in the thread title but "arguing" in the actual post?

I didn't observe it. Could you change the title?

 

[emsr2d2]

I didn't [STRIKE]observe[/STRIKE] notice/realise [STRIKE]it[/STRIKE] that. Could you change the title?

I have changed it for you.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I didn't notice it. Could you change the title?

In that sentence, notice is much more natural.

Now you know!