If I say some people visited me yesterday, you can easily guess the number likely to be involved. Perhaps they were 10, 20 or more. You are sure that they were not many and definitely it wasn’t all the nearly eight billion people on the surface of the earth that visited me. But if I say some guy visited me yesterday, or I say it was some match, you may begin to wonder what I mean exactly or doubt the correctness of my grammar. The fact, however, is that the statements are both grammatically okay. That is how versatile ‘some’ can be and I want you to cultivate more inspiring ways of using it.
All, many or some?
When many of us are speaking or writing, we fail to differentiate between the volumes involved in contexts where the likes of all, many, several, few and some are used. As a result, we commit the error of fallacy or something sometimes more dangerous. Have you not heard some say all politicians are this and that, Nigerians are this and that, Fulanis are this and that, Igbos, Yorubas, Aworis etc. are this and that? In other words, they generalise or overgeneralise in their perception of whatever group involved, whereas it is not possible for all the folks in such a large lot to be of the same character, disposition or ideology. In the situation, ‘some’ may be what you need as it often refers to an amount or number of something just as it also means a part of something. Of course, where a larger percentage is/are proved to be involved, you can go for several, many, most or almost all:
Some people are working against the survival of Nigeria. (Understandable.)
Many people are working against the survival of Nigeria. (Also possible.)
Call me if you are able to retrieve some of the books. (Just some.)
Add some water to it in the next five minutes.
We may have to buy some rice because of the party.
The above examples show that ‘some’ works with both countable and uncountable nouns – unlike ‘a few/few’ that goes with only countable (a few passengers).
Some referring to a large amount!
Although ‘some’ is largely used to refer to lesser volumes than what ‘many’ does, it can also mean a large amount of something or number:
If Nigeria misses it in the upcoming election, it might be some time before we recover. (A long time.)
It was some years later when they next met. (From Cambridge Dictionary: many years.)
We discussed the matter at some length. (Comprehensively.)
Some meaning unspecified person or things
In this case, ‘some’ refers to a particular person or thing without stating which exactly:
Some reckless guy hit my car where I parked it.
Some fools still want Nigeria to continue to be a giant dwarf.
A great moment
You can also use ‘some’ to show how good or great something or someone is. Often, we go for adjectives like beautiful, grand or memorable to describe such occasions, but ‘some’ may be what you need to avoid what sometimes seems like a cliché:
Wow! The Argentina-France encounter was some match.
That was some dinner!
What does ‘some’ mean in both clauses?
