some
- 01 B1 Intermediate
det.used to talk about a person or thing when you do not know which one it is.
det.refers to a specific but unidentified or unspecified person, place, or thing in the singular.
Simple“Some man called for you earlier but he didn't leave his name.”
In context“The project failed because of some technical error that the engineers were unable to replicate in the lab.”
UsageUsed with a singular countable noun.
Synonymsa certainone - 02 A1 Beginner
pron.a certain number of people or things from a larger group.
pron.functions as a pronoun representing an unspecified number or amount of a previously mentioned or implied set.
Simple“Some of the students finished the test early and left the room.”
In context“While most participants preferred the original design, some argued that the updated interface was more intuitive for new users.”
UsageOften followed by 'of' before a specific group.
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
adv.about or roughly a certain number.
adv.used before a numeral to indicate an approximate value.
Simple“Some eighty people attended the wedding ceremony last night.”
In context“The company expects to hire some five hundred new employees over the next fiscal year to meet rising demand.”
UsageAlways precedes a number or measurement.
Teacher's tipThis usage is more common in written reports or news than in casual conversation.
SynonymsAntonyms - 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.used to say that something is very good or very impressive.
adj.used as an intensifier to indicate that the following noun is remarkable or noteworthy.
Simple“That was some party last night; I've never seen so many people.”
In context“It was some achievement for the young athlete to break the world record in her very first international competition.”
UsageAlways used before a singular noun.
Teacher's tipThis is often used with a tone of surprise or genuine admiration.
Synonyms - 05 C1 Advanced
adv.to a small degree or for a short time.
adv.functions as a degree adverb meaning 'to some extent'.
Simple“The weather has improved some since this morning.”
In context“After the long hike, his legs were aching some, so he decided to rest by the stream.”
UsageUsually follows a verb.
Teacher's tipThis is very informal and primarily found in North American dialects; 'somewhat' is better for formal writing.
some vs any — Some indicates a positive existence or specific quantity, while any indicates an open-ended or non-existent quantity in negatives and questions.
From Middle English som, sum, from Old English sum (“some, a certain one”), from Proto-West Germanic sum, from Proto-Germanic sumaz (“some, a certain one”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one, whole”). Cognate Scots sum, some (“some”), North Frisian som, sam, säm (“some”), West Frisian sommige, somlike (“some”), dialectal Dutch som, saom (“some”), standard Dutch sommige (“some”), Low German somige (“some”), German dialectal summige (“some”), Danish somme (“some”), Swedish somlig (“some”), Norwegian sum, som (“some”), Icelandic sumur (“some”), Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌼𐍃 (sums, “one, someone”). More at same.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
For Mandarin speakers 一些 (yī xiē) means “a few; a little; some” — While 一些 (yī xiē) is a common gloss for 'some', it is primarily used in Mandarin for small quantities. Learners may avoid using 'some' to describe large but indefinite amounts because the Mandarin equivalent implies a smaller 'few'.
Mandarin lacks a distinct plural inflection for nouns and uses unspecified measure words or 些 (xiē) to denote quantity. Learners often omit the mandatory plural marker -s on the following countable noun, producing errors like 'some book' instead of 'some books'.
For Japanese speakers Japanese phonology lacks the central mid-lax vowel /ʌ/; speakers often substitute the open-mid back vowel /a/ or the mid-central Japanese /a/ (あ), resulting in a pronunciation like /samɯ/ instead of /sʌm/.
Japanese marks plurality through context rather than noun inflection; when 'some' is used with countable nouns, learners often omit the plural '-s' suffix (e.g., 'some book' instead of 'some books') because the Japanese equivalent いくつかの (ikutsuka no) does not require a change in the following noun.
The Japanese expression 何か (nanika) is used for both 'something' and 'some' in certain contexts, which leads to the production of 'some thing' as two distinct words where a single determiner or the compound 'something' is required.