some

1. 1
   determiner

   An unspecified amount or number of something, used with plural and uncountable nouns.

   There are some letters for you.

   She invited some friends round.

   UsageNegatives and questions usually take any (I don't have any money), while offers and requests keep some (would you like some tea?).

   Similarseveral

   Oppositeno

   Note

   The everyday workhorse, said lightly before a plural: would you like some grapes? No fixed group of grapes is in view, and that is what separates it from the stressed share of a group. Like that stressed use, it sits between no on one side and many or countless on the other.

2. 2
   certain peoplepronoun

   A certain number of people or things, at least two, usually against 'others' ('some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too').

   Some believe the story, some do not.

   Some of them stayed to help.

   UsageTakes a plural verb, and adds of before a pronoun or the: some of them agree.

   Note

   A pronoun that splits a group into camps. One part gets a view or a habit and "others" gets the rest, as in some enjoy spicy food, others prefer it milder. Standing alone, it can also introduce an opinion without naming who holds it (some call it geoeconomics). Careful writers use that move knowingly. The stressed share of a group is the same idea with a noun attached.

3. 3
   pronoun

   An unspecified amount, number, or part of something already mentioned or understood.

   The apples looked good, so I bought some.

   Some of these are broken.

   UsageCan stand alone for something just mentioned: I bought some. Before the or a pronoun, add of: some of these.

   Oppositenone

4. 4
   unnameddeterminer

   When stressed and with a singular noun, a certain, unspecified or unknown one.

   Some fool left the gate open.

   The letter was signed by some official I had never heard of.

   UsageOften sounds dismissive or annoyed when referring to a stranger (some idiot, some guy on the phone).

   Note

   With a singular noun, the word returns to its oldest job of picking out one individual: Old English sum meant "a certain one". Some guy who said he knew you is a real person whose identity does not matter, and the tone easily turns dismissive. Mathematics uses the same construction neutrally. For some initial value v means that at least one such value exists. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

   • Old English sum meant "a certain one". en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   determiner

   When stressed, a portion of a group, at least two but not all.

   Some shops open on Sundays, others do not.

   Some birds fly south for the winter, while others stay put all year.

   UsageStressed in speech, and often answered by others: some shops open, others do not.

   Similarcertain

   Oppositeno, zero

   Note

   Stress does the work here. SOME people like camping picks a share out of a group in view and quietly sets the rest aside. Its contrasts lie in two directions: no and none on one side, and all and every on the other. The word therefore marks a share, neither nothing nor the whole.

6. 6
   about (number)determiner

   Used before a number to mean about or approximately, sometimes stressing that the number is large.

   The town has some five thousand inhabitants.

   The old library holds some two hundred thousand books and maps.

   Note

   A rounding word placed before a numeral: some thirty years may in fact be thirty-one years and two months. It suits estimates stated with a straight face, such as some fifteen degrees colder or some three or four cars. Said with stress, the same shape can also underline how large the number is, as in some thirty thousand spectators.

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