Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - some

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. You use some to refer to a quantity of something or to a number of people or things, when you are not stating the quantity or number precisely. Robin opened some champagne... He went to fetch some books... Some children refuse to eat at all and others overeat. DET: DET n-uncount/pl-n • Some is also a pronoun. This year all the apples are all red. My niece and nephew are going out this morning with step-ladders to pick some. PRON 2. You use some to emphasize that a quantity or number is fairly large. For example, if an activity takes some time, it takes quite a lot of time. The question of local government finance has been the subject of debate for some years... I have discussed this topic in some detail... He remained silent for some time... It took some effort to conceal her relief. DET: DET n-uncount/pl-n c darkgreen]emphasis 3. You use some to emphasize that a quantity or number is fairly small. For example, if something happens to some extent, it happens a little. ‘Isn’t there some chance that William might lead a normal life?’ asked Jill... All mothers share to some extent in the tension of a wedding... Some fishing is still allowed, but limits have been imposed on the size of the catch. DET: DET n-uncount/sing-n c darkgreen]emphasis 4. If you refer to some of the people or things in a group, you mean a few of them but not all of them. If you refer to some of a particular thing, you mean a part of it but not all of it. Some of the people already in work will lose their jobs... Remove the cover and spoon some of the sauce into a bowl... Some of us are sensitive to smells, others find colours easier to remember. ? all QUANT: QUANT of n-uncount/pl-n • Some is also a pronoun. When the chicken is cooked I’ll freeze some. PRON 5. If you refer to some person or thing, you are referring to that person or thing but in a vague way, without stating precisely which person or thing you mean. If you are worried about some aspect of your child’s health, call us... She always thinks some guy is going to come along and fix her life. DET: DET sing-n c darkgreen]vagueness 6. You can use some in front of a number to indicate that it is approximate. I have kept birds for some 30 years... He waited some 80 to 100 yards from the big pink villa... = about ADV: ADV num c darkgreen]vagueness 7. Some is used to mean to a small extent or degree. (AM) If Susanne is off somewhere, I’ll kill time by looking around some... ADV: ADV after v 8. You can use some in front of a noun in order to express your approval or disapproval of the person or thing you are mentioning. (INFORMAL) ‘Some party!’—‘Yep. One hell of a party.’ DET c darkgreen]feelings