Some of us + Noun [closed]

Question

I don't know why we can use Some of us + Noun like this:

Some of us boys are planning to drive throughout the country during the summer holidays.

Can anyone explain it for me?

J.R. · Answer 1 · 2012-06-13 00:38:14Z

up vote 6 down vote

It's simply a way to clarify who the plural pronoun us is referring to.

For example, my daughter might say:

Some of us are going to the mall after school.

and, as a concerned parent, I'll want to know who "us" refers to.

But she could instead say:

Some of us band members are going to the mall after school.

to clue me in on who she's talking about.

answered Jun 13 '12 at 0:38

J.R.
33.9k23393

	Thank you. I have searched on google and bing, and no results made me satisfied. – T.N Jun 13 '12 at 0:51
	The pronoun 'we' is rather ambiguous in English (you and me, you and me and other people, me and some other people, who may or may not be present), so it's common to say things like "we boys are going ..." to remove the ambiguity. When you put "some of" in front of this construction, it becomes accusative, so you get "some of us boys are going ...". – Peter Shor Jun 13 '12 at 1:27

Neil Coffey · Answer 2 · 2012-06-13 01:08:59Z

up vote 3 down vote

Inserting the noun tends to mark a contrast of some sort. So if you say:

"Some of us boys are planning X"

there's often an implication of e.g. "...as opposed to the girls, who are planning Y".

answered Jun 13 '12 at 1:08

Neil Coffey
12.4k2134

closed as not a real question by RegDwighт♦ Jun 13 '12 at 9:57