somebody
part of speech
pronoun (somebody); noun (a somebody — an important person)
meaning for a pupil
1) Somebody means a person, but we do not know or do not say who. It means the same as someone. tree →
2) A somebody is a person who is important or famous: he wants to be a somebody. tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths: an unnamed person in a story; no amount; read the verb for the operation (took means take away, gives means add). In everyday life and safety: if somebody you do not know offers you a lift, say no and tell an adult; tell somebody you trust if you feel unsafe. Phrases: somebody else, somebody special, ask somebody, somebody or other.
examples
- Somebody took 3 cookies from the jar. tree →
- If somebody gives you 5 more, how many will you have? tree →
- Somebody left 2 books on the desk. tree →
- Somebody ate half of the cake. tree →
- Somebody is knocking at the door. tree →
- If you are lost, ask somebody who works in the shop. tree →
- Is somebody sitting here? tree →
- I think somebody else has my pencil. tree →
- "Why did not somebody tell me?" tree →
note
Use a singular verb: «somebody is», «somebody has». Same as «someone». A person only; read the verb for the operation (took means take away, gives means add).
In the corpora
- «Third time this week» is nobody's count, and why he parks there is his business until somebody simply asks him.
- A weed is not a kind of plant; it is a plant growing where somebody does not want it.
- Reading for pleasure means reading because you want to, not because somebody told you to.
- Lost property still belongs to somebody, who may come looking for it.
- Getting away with wasting for weeks does not make it free; somebody paid for every sandwich in the bin.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «somebody» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.