I. determiner
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a little/many/some/any more
▪
Can I have a little more time to finish?
▪
Are there any more sandwiches?
at some point
▪
Over half the population suffers from back pain at some point in their lives.
at some stage
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Four out of ten people are likely to contract cancer at some stage in their lives.
bear a/some similarity to sth (= be like something )
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The murder bore a striking similarity to another shooting 25 miles away.
breathe some air/the air
▪
It was wonderful to be outside and breathe some fresh air.
catch up on some sleep (= sleep after not having enough sleep )
▪
I suggest you try and catch up on some sleep.
catch up on some sleep (= after a period without enough sleep )
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I need to catch up on some sleep .
do some exercise ( also take some exercise British English )
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He ought to do more exercise.
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He was advised by the doctor to take more exercise.
do some thinking
▪
I’ve had a chance to do some thinking.
do some/any/ no etc work
▪
She was feeling too tired to do any work.
do some/any/no good (= improve a situation )
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It might do some good if you talk to him about the problem.
▪
The fresh air has done me good.
do some/no preparation
▪
He had obviously done no preparation for the meeting.
do some/the/your shopping
▪
I thought you wanted to do some shopping.
For some inexplicable reason,
▪
For some inexplicable reason, he felt depressed.
for some reason (or other) ( also for some unknown reason ) (= for a reason that you do not know )
▪
For some reason she felt like crying.
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For some unknown reason, the curtains were always drawn.
For some strange reason
▪
For some strange reason , I slept like a baby despite the noise.
For some unaccountable reason
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For some unaccountable reason , he arrived a day early.
For some unknown reason
▪
For some unknown reason , Mark quit his job and moved to Greece.
get some advice
▪
I decided to get some advice from a specialist.
get some exercise
▪
I don’t get enough exercise.
get some kip
▪
We ought to get some kip .
get some practice
▪
You must get as much practice as possible before the competition.
get some rest
▪
You’d better get some rest if you’re driving back tonight.
get some shut-eye
▪
We’d better get some shut-eye .
get some sleep (= sleep for a while )
▪
You’d better get some sleep.
give it some wellie
▪
You need to give it some wellie .
give sb some advice
▪
My father once gave me some useful advice.
▪
The scheme has given advice and training to scores of youngsters taking part.
good for some time/a hundred miles etc
▪
This old truck is good for another 100,000 miles.
have no/any/some means of doing sth
▪
There was no path, and they had no means of knowing where they were.
have some company (= not be alone )
▪
‘Come in,’ she said, pleased to have some company.
have some knowledge of sth
▪
The book assumes that you already have some knowledge of physics.
have some news (for sb)
▪
I could tell by his face that he had some news.
have some/more etc practice (= do practice )
▪
I’m not a very good dancer. I haven’t had enough practice.
have some/no/little credibility
▪
By then the president had ceased to have any credibility.
have some/no/little say in sth
▪
The workers had no say in how the factory was run.
in some sense ( also in some senses )
▪
George was perfectly right in some senses.
it’s all right for some
▪
‘I get eight weeks’ holiday a year.‘ ’Well, it’s all right for some .'
let in some air (= let fresh air into a room )
▪
It would be nice to open the door and let in some air.
of (some) repute (= having a good reputation )
▪
a hotel of some repute
on some pretext
▪
He’ll phone on some pretext or other.
or some such
▪
She needs to see a psychiatrist or some such person.
pass on some advice (= give someone advice that you have learned or been given )
▪
Readers can pass on advice about gardening.
put some distance between yourself and sb/sth (= go quite a long way from them )
▪
He wanted to put some distance between himself and his pursuers.
put some energy into sth
▪
Try to put more energy into your game.
say some words
▪
She stopped abruptly, suddenly afraid to say the words aloud.
some ... others
▪
Some people are at greater risk than others.
some chance
▪
There’s some chance of snow later this week.
some distance (= quite a long distance )
▪
He heard a scream some distance away.
some kind
▪
Carved into the stone was some kind of design.
some other
▪
Can we discuss this some other time?
some semblance of normality
▪
We’ll soon get back to some semblance of normality .
some semblance of order
▪
She was trying to get her thoughts back into some semblance of order .
some sort
▪
There has been some sort of error.
some success
▪
The group is already achieving some success.
some time ago (= a fairly long time ago )
▪
They moved to a new house some time ago .
some time (= quite a long period of time )
▪
I’ve known the truth for some time.
some/a little/a long way ahead
▪
The clinic was now in sight, some way ahead.
some/certain reservations
▪
Despite some reservations, I recommend this book.
take some doing British English informal (= need a lot of time or effort )
▪
Catching up four goals will take some doing.
there is no/little/some doubt (= used to talk about how sure people are about something )
▪
There is little doubt that he will play for England one day.
there must be some mistake (= used when you think someone has made a mistake )
▪
There must be some mistake. I definitely booked a room for tonight.
there must be some misunderstanding (= used when you think someone has not understood something correctly )
▪
I think there must be some misunderstanding - I don’t know anyone called Barry.
to some extent/to a certain extent (= partly )
▪
What you say is true to some extent, but it’s not the whole picture.
with some justification
▪
Hoggart felt, with some justification , that his colleagues had let him down.
With some trepidation
▪
With some trepidation , I opened the door.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
If I should die, think only this of me:/That there's some corner of a foreign field/That is forever England
a/some semblance of sth
▪
Life went back to a semblance of normalcy.
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And so it went on: a series of intrinsically meaningless turns that gained a semblance of significance through weekly repetition.
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Comfortable sofas and armchairs should be grouped to allow a semblance of privacy for each couple or party.
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Huge fans in the basement of Bio2 pushed the air around for some semblance of wind, but it hardly moved pollen.
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Old Chao puckered his face into a semblance of pain.
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Slowly, a semblance of normal life is returning to Topo.
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The ever changing acceleration charges it with energy; a semblance of life that is discussed in Chapter 14.
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The main office gradually returned to a semblance of normality.
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There will be just enough time for some semblance of the democratic process within the party to operate.
at (some/great etc) length
▪
All the torments of the one class and the joys of the other are described at length .
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An example may, in consequence, be worth considering at some length .
▪
Moreover, they were journalists from a premier worldwide newsgathering organization, playing themselves and at great length in a feature-film fantasy.
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Standing in the farmyard, Giles Aplin also spoke to Seb at some length .
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The criteria employed for the weeding process are discussed at some length in Chapter 11.
▪
The distinctions between kinds of complex idea are considered at some length in the Essay.
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Their objections, based on religious grounds, are discussed at length in the opinion.
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This argument is both diversionary and, at length , immobilizing.
catch some/a few rays
▪
Clothes, sleeping bags, spare canvas, all were hung up or spread out to catch a few rays of sunshine.
catch/get some Z's
cut/give sb some slack
▪
Hey, cut me some slack , man, I'm only a few bucks short.
▪
She played the fish, gave it some slack and let it run till it hesitated, then slowly drew it back.
▪
The fish must have come forward to give the line some slack .
do some good/do sb good
give sb some/enough etc rope
▪
You gave me enough rope for eighteen months, and now ... He gripped the back of the chair in front of him.
give sb/get (some) stick
▪
He doesn't give his stick to just anybody.
go some way towards doing sth
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But Mala had gone some way towards the opposite.
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Funding for public works, including community-based arts projects, went some way towards alleviating mass unemployment.
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However, the Commission has recently issued a notice which goes some way towards defining the elements of them.
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It is proposed that hypertext systems go some way towards providing students with alternative structures for organizing their knowledge of electronic publishing.
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Most of the old great Elf towns date from this period and it goes some way towards accounting for their remoteness.
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The theory also goes some way towards answering the question of why people speak indirectly.
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This goes some way towards typing the organism causing the disease.
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Will he go some way towards reviewing the process?
go to some/great/any lengths (to do sth)
▪
Both want to steal the show and they are going to great lengths to do it.
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Dealers, sometimes surreptitiously encouraged by their firms, would go to great lengths to extract information from employees of rival firms.
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Furthermore, bats go to great lengths to avoid confrontations with people.
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George Bush went to great lengths to keep out of his way on the campaign trail.
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The Medieval church went to some lengths to specify the roles of particular stones in religious imagery.
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When uninterrupted by unforeseen or unrecognized obstacles, parents will go to great lengths to provide these advantages for their children.
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Who knows whether Oppenheimer went to any lengths to find anyone who had anything good to say about Stewart.
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Yet Phillips climbed the wall anyway, went to great lengths to hurt his ex-girlfriend.
have a/some/no etc bearing on sth
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And that it might have some bearing on what has happened now.
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But the facts of the past seemed to have no bearing on the facts of the present.
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It has come to have a bearing on the larger questions of civilized survival.
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Party political factors, professionalism and the dispositions of key personalities all usually have some bearing on internal management structures.
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The availability of security may, however, have a bearing on whether or not a particular loan will be granted.
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The observations on immortality in Chapter Thirteen may be seen to have some bearing on this.
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The outside influences have no bearing on what you can do for your basketball team....
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This year's form will have a bearing on all future claims.
in large measure/in some measure
in one respect/in some respects etc
knock some sense into sb/into sb's head
▪
Maybe getting arrested will knock some sense into him.
make (some) sense of sth
▪
Both writing and speech require context to make sense of what might formally be ambiguous.
▪
Evelyn stretched out on her back and stared into the dark, trying to make sense of the day's events.
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How can human beings in normal conversation makes sense of 5,000 words an hour of confusing, semi-organized information?
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It is not easy to make sense of the maze of facts and figures concerning the settlements.
▪
No wonder the new managers found it difficult to make sense of and define their new role.
▪
They were arriving in their World Humanities class unable to make sense of a literary text.
▪
This often happens when independent organizations seek to make sense of different providers offering the same service.
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We do advise you to dig out the manual that came with your modem to help make sense of the relevant commands.
need some (more) meat on your bones
▪
Matt, you need some more meat on your bones!
of every/some/any etc description
▪
Academic excellence was matched with extra-curricular activities of every description - from drama through sport to foreign travel.
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But there is nothing against rugs of any description .
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For example, he wanted to be a member of as many clubs - of any description - as possible.
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Her knowledge of publishing trends, literary history, and books of every description and genre, however, filled rooms.
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It is authorized to decide all cases of every description , arising under the constitution or laws of the United States.
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Superb apple pie with sultanas and cloves, interspersed with crusty bread sandwiches of every description .
▪
The action must take place against a backdrop of some description , even if it it is a blank black curtain.
quite a sth/quite some sth
▪
But some are quite skeptical of some of his initiatives.
▪
Dorothy and I love the city, although our children have quite honestly had some problems.
▪
In this kind of organization a directive style would be seen as quite out-of-place.
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Let us start from an observation which may seem quite unconnected.
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The breeding range of island species is small and therefore vulnerable, and the species themselves may be quite primitive.
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The poll shows that Mr Livingstone's cross-party popularity is quite unprecedented.
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The problem begins when we realize that some companies are actually quite genuine.
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Vassar was just becoming co-ed and there was a lot of tension and, quite frankly, some weird men.
quite a/some time
▪
For quite some time he lived with the expectation that he was going to die.
▪
He found out we had been pulling the wool over his eyes for quite some time.
▪
If the skin and gills are kept moist they can remain out of water for quite some time.
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In other words, it Adll be quite some time before the kinks are worked out of the system.
▪
It must have taken quite a time.
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It was brought to her before I really got to know her, but it was with her for quite some time.
▪
Judging the competition has taken quite some time and was no easy matter.
▪
Uh I have no for quite some time.
some people have all the luck
▪
It costs a fortune to buy a Porsche - some people have all the luck .
take some beating
▪
As a great place for a vacation, Florida takes some beating .
▪
Schumacher has a twelve-second lead, which will take some beating .
▪
And the valley of the River Wharfe takes some beating .
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As family Christmasses go, the gruesome Moons in their storm-lashed failing farm take some beating .
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As far as awful games go this one takes some beating .
▪
Did they complain about the Fujitsu factory, which takes some beating when one is considering eyesores?
▪
For sheer enjoyment of climbing at this standard the routes on the Clapis sector the Dentelles de Montmirail take some beating .
▪
For styling and interior comfort, both for pilots and passengers, it certainly takes some beating .
▪
He is sure to take some beating with more enterprising tactics and can hand out a lesson in the New University Maiden.
take some doing
▪
Getting this old car to run is going to take some doing .
▪
It took some doing , but I finally persuaded Jim to give me a few more days off.
▪
Winning 3 gold medals in the Olympic Games takes some doing .
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Catching up four goals will take some doing .
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It takes some doing for a couple to counter the opposition of either family.
▪
It took some doing , but I was out the next day.
▪
So I have to prise off the foe unassisted, which, believe me, takes some doing .
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This Series can be saved, but it will take some doing .
▪
This took some doing , as they seemed prepared to stay all night.
▪
Whew, that took some doing , I can tell you.
talk (some) sense into sb
▪
Someone needs to talk sense into Rob before he gets hurt.
▪
Afterwards, George asked me to come down and see if I could talk some sense into you.
▪
At least it gave him time to try and talk some sense into her.
▪
He had already tried to talk sense into Jotan, and had got nowhere.
▪
Maybe the squabbling sparrows on the next balcony would talk some sense into her before it was too late.
▪
She fervently hoped that Father McCormack would be able to talk some sense into her son.
▪
Take this, and try to talk some sense into your dad if you can.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Some students only come here because they want to have fun, not because they want to learn.
▪
Some trees lose their leaves in the autumn.
▪
I've only spent some of the money.
▪
In some cases, the damage could not even be repaired.
▪
It's a good idea to take some cash with you.
▪
Of course you'll make some new friends in college.
▪
The talks have been continuing for some time.
▪
There's some butter in the fridge.
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They've already gotten some offers to buy their house.
II. pronoun
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
"Do you have any tape?" "Yeah, there's some in my desk drawer."
▪
It's true that some have suggested that the mayor resign.
▪
We're out of milk. Could you bring some home from the store?
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We've ordered more blue shirts, though we still have some in stock.
III. adverb
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Among the 11 factory sites across Europe, some 2,600 jobs are to be eliminated this year.
▪
He lectured at the Institut Pasteur for some 50 years.
▪
We could work some and then rest a while.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
Statistically, some 100,000 Guardian readers will be problem drinkers.