how to read, "for some"
November 30, 2010 12:15 AM Subscribe
I'm learning English. When you native English speakers say, "for some", it generally means,"for some people"? Or,for example, "for some reason" is occasionally shortened to "for some"?
Not in my experience, no. It means "for some people." Or "for some objects." (E.g., "We'll be decorating these six walls. For some, we have paint, and for others, we have wallpaper.")
posted by salvia at 12:19 AM on November 30, 2010 [5 favorites]
posted by salvia at 12:19 AM on November 30, 2010 [5 favorites]
for some reason has become almost an idiomatic phrase. If I had to explain what the individual words mean, I couldn't. It is usually a shortened phrase that people understand to be:
for some reason [that exists but is not known/understood]
Unless you're using it sarcastically, in which case the speaker will often emphasize the word some. In which case, it means:
for SOME reason [that everyone knows well but we are only going to allude to]
What the phrase for some means depends highly on the context of the conversation. But in general, without context, most native English speakers (at least in America) are going to understand it as "for some [people]".
posted by sbutler at 12:35 AM on November 30, 2010 [5 favorites]
for some reason [that exists but is not known/understood]
Unless you're using it sarcastically, in which case the speaker will often emphasize the word some. In which case, it means:
for SOME reason [that everyone knows well but we are only going to allude to]
What the phrase for some means depends highly on the context of the conversation. But in general, without context, most native English speakers (at least in America) are going to understand it as "for some [people]".
posted by sbutler at 12:35 AM on November 30, 2010 [5 favorites]
Often "many" or "few" are used in the same way, with "people" implied ("for many, Conan Doyle's detective is the best", "the novels of Mrs Humphry Ward are nowadays appreciated by few"). As salvia says, it will depend on the context - but I can't think of a sentence in which "for some" could be used properly with "reason" implied.
posted by nja at 12:52 AM on November 30, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by nja at 12:52 AM on November 30, 2010 [2 favorites]
Agreed - 'for some reason' is never shortened to 'for some'. But if you're talking about people or things, you can.
A phrase you might hear is 'It's alright for some', which basically means 'those people have it lucky'. This is rarely (never?) lengthened to 'It's alright for some people'.
posted by Happy Dave at 3:22 AM on November 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
A phrase you might hear is 'It's alright for some', which basically means 'those people have it lucky'. This is rarely (never?) lengthened to 'It's alright for some people'.
posted by Happy Dave at 3:22 AM on November 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
The above descriptions apply to Australian English as well - "for some" means "for some [people]" or "for some [object]", never "for some reason".
posted by une_heure_pleine at 4:28 AM on November 30, 2010
posted by une_heure_pleine at 4:28 AM on November 30, 2010
A rule of thumb that you might think about here is that the "for some" abbreviation needs to refer to a collection of things (or people, or ideas): I have some friends, some reasons for a decision, some dogs, some books, etc. When you're using 'some' in this way it works the same as words like many and 'a few'.
On the other hand, in "for some reason", 'some' doesn't mean 'a collection of things' but 'one specific thing, but I don't know what thing it is.' (or I don't want to say it) For the specific case of people, you would be using 'someone' in cases like this. Here are some (first kind!) more examples of some (second kind!)
Some enchanted evening (don't know which evening, not lots of evenings)
Some idiot scratched my car while I was in the store!/Someone scratched my car (don't know which idiot, but there's only one)
For some reason he left (don't know why he left)
Hope this helps!
posted by heyforfour at 5:04 AM on November 30, 2010 [4 favorites]
On the other hand, in "for some reason", 'some' doesn't mean 'a collection of things' but 'one specific thing, but I don't know what thing it is.' (or I don't want to say it) For the specific case of people, you would be using 'someone' in cases like this. Here are some (first kind!) more examples of some (second kind!)
Some enchanted evening (don't know which evening, not lots of evenings)
Some idiot scratched my car while I was in the store!/Someone scratched my car (don't know which idiot, but there's only one)
For some reason he left (don't know why he left)
Hope this helps!
posted by heyforfour at 5:04 AM on November 30, 2010 [4 favorites]
"Some" can also mean "a portion of" or "an indefinite quantity of," when it's used with certain nouns. For example, "I want to eat some cheese" means "I want to eat a quantity of cheese, but I can't specify how much."
English is tricky.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:46 AM on November 30, 2010
English is tricky.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:46 AM on November 30, 2010
Best answer: By far the most common meaning of "for some" will be "for some people". This meaning is usually used when describing something on which different people have different opinions/experiences, or where people are treated differently. Here are examples of this usage:
For some, this food is too spicy; for others, it is just right.
This food is too spicy for some.
For some, baseball is exciting; for others, it is boring.
Some find baseball exciting; some find it boring.
For some, the ticket will be $10; for others, the ticket will be $12.
BUT there is an exception: the meaning of "some" can depend on a noun phrase that has occurred earlier in the sentence. "Some" can mean "some of those things we were just talking about". (Just like a pronoun "it" can mean "that thing we were just talking about".)
"There are 200 languages spoken in this country; for some there are millions of speakers, for others there are only a few speakers."
In that example, "some" means "some of the languages spoken in this country".
"Mary wants to apply for ten jobs; for some she has the correct address, for others she doesn't yet."
In that example, "some" means "some of the jobs".
You ask whether "For some reason" could be shortened to "for some". Not usually. heyforfour has done a good job explaining why, and as said above it's a "set phrase" or idiom, where you would not normally shorten it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:10 PM on November 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
For some, this food is too spicy; for others, it is just right.
This food is too spicy for some.
For some, baseball is exciting; for others, it is boring.
Some find baseball exciting; some find it boring.
For some, the ticket will be $10; for others, the ticket will be $12.
BUT there is an exception: the meaning of "some" can depend on a noun phrase that has occurred earlier in the sentence. "Some" can mean "some of those things we were just talking about". (Just like a pronoun "it" can mean "that thing we were just talking about".)
"There are 200 languages spoken in this country; for some there are millions of speakers, for others there are only a few speakers."
In that example, "some" means "some of the languages spoken in this country".
"Mary wants to apply for ten jobs; for some she has the correct address, for others she doesn't yet."
In that example, "some" means "some of the jobs".
You ask whether "For some reason" could be shortened to "for some". Not usually. heyforfour has done a good job explaining why, and as said above it's a "set phrase" or idiom, where you would not normally shorten it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:10 PM on November 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
Also, keep in mind that "foursome" means a group of four people, often for golf.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:12 PM on November 30, 2010
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:12 PM on November 30, 2010
Can you give us the sentence in question? Did you perhaps misunderstand a construction like this:
Do you want more exciting catalogues in your mailbox? Well, ask for some!
in which "for some" means "for some catalogues"?
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:15 PM on November 30, 2010
Do you want more exciting catalogues in your mailbox? Well, ask for some!
in which "for some" means "for some catalogues"?
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:15 PM on November 30, 2010
Good answers already. I'll just stress that you won't ever see "for some" used to mean "for some reason". It means "For a certain number (of people or things)..."
posted by Decani at 2:13 PM on November 30, 2010
posted by Decani at 2:13 PM on November 30, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by randomstriker at 12:16 AM on November 30, 2010