Is it correct to say there was some kid in the classroom?
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closed as general reference by Mr. Shiny and New 安宇, Mitch, aedia λ, JSBձոգչ, simchona♦ Nov 14 '11 at 18:14
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I think it's most often used with something following about who this particular child was or what he did. For example, "There was some kid in the classroom who stole the teacher's answer key" or "There was some kid in the classroom who came from France". In such cases, I think it's quite correct and appropriate: you are saying that you do not have any further indication of which child you are talking about except the statement that follows. Clearly there's a big difference between, "Billy Smith stole the answer key" and "Some kid stole the answer key": The former clearly states who did it; the latter indicates that you either don't know or prefer not to say. P.S. While the phrasing may be somewhat informal, using the word "kid" rather than "child" or "student" is much more informal. |
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Yes, some is used in this way to mean ‘One or other; an undetermined or unspecified’ (Oxford English Dictionary). It can be accompanied by . . . or other after the noun it modifies. It often carries a derogatory sense, I suppose because it sounds dismissive to be no more precise. It’s probably more frequent in speech than in writing. |
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It is correct to say
Here some is used to refer to a particular thing without saying which. |
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