Posted on 1-16-23

Some, sometimes, someone, something, etc.

Oh, how I love these words! Let me count the ways… 769 times in 60k words. Yikes! We tend to use some, or the variant of it, when we can’t think of what else to put (at the time).

Some is an unspecified amount or something unknown.

But ‘some’ and its variants are oftentimes considered lazy writing. Try to pinpoint what ‘some’ is supposed to be in your writing. You are, after all, referring to ‘some’ thing.

Example:

“This belonged to some woman before it came here.”

Okay, it doesn’t sound too bad, right? It was ‘some’ woman in the past, right? We don’t know exactly who, maybe… unless you’ve identified her earlier in your writing.

Well, how about:

“This belonged to a woman before it came here.”

Hmm. Now, even if you do not know who the woman is, you’ve eliminated ‘some.’

Example:

“I was going somewhere, but now, I’m not.”

How about:

“I was going– to the store, to the movies, to-etc. – but now, I’m not.”

Tip: ‘Some’ is an easy word to substitute for something you’ve already identified earlier.

‘Some’ is an easy word to substitute for an action, item, or location you’ve already identified earlier.

Remember, you might understand why you’re saying ‘some’ but others might miss it. And sometimes, ‘some’, or any of the variants can be used. But if it refers to something you’ve identified, or you can rewrite the sentence, consider doing so.

Thank you for reading, and don’t forget to…

Write On!