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Usage of Some: Does "some" require a plural or singular verb?

grammar
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  • 3
    It depends on whether it refers to a mass noun or a countable noun: "Some sugar has spilled. Some ants are eating it". – Peter Shor Feb 19 '14 at 15:56
  • if it's countable, use the plural form of the verb. Am i right? – user66293 Feb 19 '14 at 15:57
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    Some is neither mass nor count; some always modifies a noun, which may be deleted because it's immediately present in the discourse. It's that noun that governs agreement, and might be countable or not; some doesn't have anything to do with it and doesn't have a plural form anyway. – John Lawler Feb 19 '14 at 16:06
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If the word that you want to put after "some" has a plural form, then use the plural form of the verb:

Some people are egoistic.

If the word doesn't have a plural form, use the singular form:

Some information is incorrect.

Information does not have a plural form, so you have to use the singular form of the verb.

The same rule applies for other quantities:

A lot of people are egoistic.
A lot of information is incorrect.
Many people are egoistic.
Much information is incorrect.

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  • @DavidM: Thanks, I misunderstood the question. I will update my answer. – ProgramFOX Feb 19 '14 at 16:20
  • Great! I'm 100% certain you will be able to answer it correctly. As I said, you answered the wrong question rightly. – David M Feb 19 '14 at 16:23
  • @DavidM: I updated my answer. – ProgramFOX Feb 19 '14 at 16:25
  • We don't use much for countable nouns (including people). So many people are egoistic. – Peter Shor Feb 19 '14 at 18:35
  • @PeterShor: Thanks, didn't know about that. I updated my answer. – ProgramFOX Feb 19 '14 at 18:37
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singular                              plural
  1. An apple is... -------------------------> Some apples are...
  2. A book has... -------------------------> Some books have...
  3. A man does... ------------------------> Some men do...
  4. A child lives... ------------------------> Some children live...
  5. A cake tastes... -----------------------> Some cakes taste...
  6. A piece of cake is... -------------------> Some pieces of cake are...
  7. A glass of water isn't... ---------------> Some glasses of water aren't...
  8. Water is... -----------------------------> Some water is...
  9. A piece of advice was...---------------> Some advice was
  10. I have (a piece of) good news ... -----> I have some good news
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  • What is the wording starts with Some of, such as Some of the mandatory parameters is/are missing - which one is correct: is or are ? – Ωmega Oct 17 '19 at 13:10
  • @Ωmega the subject parameters is plural, hence also the verb , e.g. some of the (mandatory) parameters are missing... – Mari-Lou A Oct 17 '19 at 13:21
  • But what if just one is missing? Still are ? What if we know that one or more, but we don't know how many? – Ωmega Oct 17 '19 at 13:24
  • ""Some of the mandatory parameters ..." means "One or more of the mandatory parameters ...", and we don't know if the case is "One of the mandatory parameters ..." or "Two or more of the mandatory parameters ...". Therefore I see it unclear if is or are should be used when we don't know if the some is just one parameter missing, or if there is two or more parameters missing. – Ωmega Oct 17 '19 at 13:39
  • @Ωmega you can post a new question, explaining in detail your confusion. It shouldn't be closed as a duplicate. Include all the information in the question, try not to add new information every time someone answers. Good luck! – Mari-Lou A Oct 17 '19 at 13:40
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when some is an adjective it can be used with both plural and singular

1.being an undetermined or unspecified one:Some person may object.

Informal. of impressive or remarkable quality, consequence, extent, etc.:That was some storm.

though when used as a quantifier then it may only be used with mass nouns and uncountable ones.

May i have some sugar please

I think i see some people over there

and since the verb form is decided by the SN and none other this should answer your question

SN= subject noun

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  • I don't understand "can be used with both plural and singular". Do you mean 'some persons may object' is also correct or there is a difference in meaning? Also, about the quantifier, is for example "There are some clouds/cloud" wrong? – Vincenzooo Jan 31 '18 at 22:29
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    when some is an adjective it can be used for describing singular nouns and plural nouns, e.g. i saw some person walking there. and i saw some people walking there. as a quantifier, there are some clouds is correct. – Uhtred Ragnarsson Feb 12 '18 at 8:40

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