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Some examples (right or wrong, I do not know)

  • He went to the store--for some reason.
  • He went to the store, for some reason.
  • For some reason, she went to the store.

A grammatical explanation as to what exactly "for what reason" is would be great too.

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2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

I would use either

For some reason, he went to the store.

or

He went to the store, for some reason.

"For some reason" means that the speaker is unsure why the action has occurred.

It is advisable to use a comma here because otherwise its meaning could be ambiguous; you might think he went to the store precisely to find some kind of reason.

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Presumably, one would to a university to obtain some reason. – Malvolio Apr 27 '11 at 1:34
2  
@Malvolio, it's so cute that you think that reason is what universities dispense. – JSBձոգչ Apr 27 '11 at 12:11
@JSBangs -- well, it may not be what they're actually dispensing, but it's what their customers are seeking. – Malvolio Apr 27 '11 at 18:32
1  
@Malvolio. That, and beer. And sex. – JSBձոգչ Apr 27 '11 at 18:35
@JSBangs -- if I don't order the beer, can I substitute two helpings of sex instead? – Malvolio Apr 27 '11 at 20:24
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up vote 1 down vote

"for some reason" is a prepositional phrase.

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