2

One of the meanings of "some" is:

an unspecified amount or number of.

Example: "I made some money running errands" (Source)

So, can I use "some" with a noun that might be singular or plural? For example:

X should satisfy some physiological condition.

In the above sentence, it might be just one condition or more than one. Is that a right way to say that having in mind that "some" is used for unspecified number? Or do I have to use a plural s with parentheses:

X should satisfy some physiological condition(s).

2
  • 1
    Collins has what is probably a better treatment (though your link is unhelpful). / 'A should satisfy some physiological condition' could be a generalised statement awaiting the spelling out of one or more such physiological condition/s, or without context, default to 'There must be some physiological condition that A happens to satisfy.' Aug 26, 2017 at 15:56
  • Sure. "I ate some sheep just now."
    – Greg Lee
    Sep 26, 2017 at 0:07

2 Answers 2

2

The use of "some" as "an unspecified number of" is typically only used with either plural nouns or uncountables (words that do not distinguish between singular and plural).

Uncountables appear as singular nouns, but have no plural equivalent. "Money", as you used as an example, is an uncountable noun, as is "water", "air", "space", etc.

2
  • So, "some condition" does not mean "some condition(s)"? Do I have to add (s) to show that it might or might not be plural?
    – Sasan
    Aug 26, 2017 at 20:38
  • 1
    In this case, "some condition" is interpreted as "an undefined condition", while "some conditions" is interpreted as "an undefined number of conditions"
    – Excelseo
    Aug 26, 2017 at 20:43
2

Some in "some physiological condition" is grammatical, but it matches this definition, not the one you were going for:

(Note that Oxford Dictionaries is the source for your definition and example sentence too.)


There are several different ways you could word it. What you wrote will work (here's a similar example). And here's another way that works:

A should satisfy at least one physiological condition.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.