I often hear native speakers say for some reason, but I think reason is usually a countable noun and "some reasons" can have the meaning of "an unspecified number of reasons". I think for some reasons ought to be a correct form of it.  What's your comment?  Is "for some reasons" used in everyday English? If it is, what's the difference between it and "for some reason"?  ( doesn't help, because it lists both singular and plural words used with "some".)
124163
I usually use the plural form after "some."   Example:     I bought some books about France   But I would also say some source states that France is best toured in fall.  Is there a specific grammar rule? May I say that in the second sentence I am really thinking at a very specific source, so singular is needed?
123020
I am confused about the usages of "allow", "allow for" and "allow of".  Suppose police   is examining the evidence related to a bank robbery:           The evidence allows the possibility of an inside job.     The evidence allows for the possibility of an inside job.     The evidence allows of the possibility of an inside job.        I checked a number of dictionaries and google.  It seems that the usages in my three sentences are understandable English.  But what do native speakers on this forum think?
53457
I've noticed an interesting usage where "because [noun]." is used at the end of a sentence to mean "because [...everything that word implies. Nothing more needs to be said]". It often has a wry or sarcastic tone that implies the subject considers the word to be a blanket explanation for something.   An example might be "She couldn't drag herself away from the computer because internet.", the implication being that the Internet is seductive. Another example is  where "because sex" is used to imply that a group of people have a simplistic attitude to how sex affects people's lives.  The odd grammar causes a clang in my head when I read it, but of course that is the point; the author is showing how this word will stop the conversation dead in its tracks, so it is quite effective.   Is this a new or emerging usage, or have I just started noticing it?
59960
I want to write that I have handful of somethings.  Which of these is the correct form?   There is a handful of somethings. There are a handful of somethings.   Are both correct?
19964
Can you please clarify the relation and differences between these nouns?   For example, is it proper to use "persons" instead of "people"? Are they the same? As I believe that "people" is plural, how come there exists the plural of the plural (=peoples)? Does it have any usage?
97159
I have a question about using the phrase "some kind of _".  Is it incorrect to say "some kind of + plural noun"?     For example, is it wrong to say "are these rock-like things some kind of chocolates?"   I didn't use "kinds" and that kind of adds to my question. Is "kind" always plural, like "some kinds of chocolates"? Because although I'm using "some", it feels like "kind" shouldn't be a countable noun.  Anyway, I don't think I've heard of "some kind of + plural", but I think it makes more sense then using singular, since I think chocolates are countable. Please help!
53363
Generally, one doesn't use the indefinite article with a noun because it's plural, but sometimes you get nouns where, for some reason, the indefinite article isn't used even though the noun is singular.  I would never say 'a software', though it seems to be a singular noun, and I've heard it said (though it sounds wrong).  Instead, we say 'some software' or 'a piece of software' (the latter implying that software is singular), so why does 'a software' sound wrong?  EDIT: I really meant to ask why we don't consider software singular.  Maybe I should have asked, 'why is software a mass noun?'
82900
He went to bed, for he was tired. (For = coordinating conjunction) He went to bed, because he was tired. (Because = subordinating conjunction) Is this correct? If so, I'm confused. In all the examples and explanations I've found online it says 'for' is a preposition unless used in that particular way above, in which case it becomes a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS). But to me it seems like 'for' has the exact same function and meaning as 'because' in the above example. Both could be replaced with 'due to the fact that...' Why is 'because' subordinating but 'for' coordinating?  FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
73017
English not my native language. I'm trying to understand what would be correct in British English.  If I want to use a car for some time. I can say, "I want to rent a car". But from my knowledge there may be a  misunderstanding. I can say the same words if I want to give a car to someone to use for some time and I want to receive payment.  So what would be correct and not misunderstanding?   1) I want to use a car for some time = "I want to hire a car" 2) I want to give a car to someone to use for some time = "rent out a car"   Is my understanding correct?
3246
Could you explain me please, why sometimes the word "mile" is used in singular, sometimes in plural, while in both cases it refers to several and not 1 mile.  Example:     They took part in a 26 mile long swimming race.   After 12 miles he got tired.   Thanks in advance to those who can enlighten me!
69849
Especially in IT it is often neccessary to write chains of nouns like "Messages List" because one cannot use "The list of messages" for variable name in a programming language. I can't understand how to construct them correctly for plurals, ex. "Message list" or "Messages list" ? What grammar rules concern this subject?  As a maybe special case, I'm interesting in naming the number of something, ex. the number of apples. It is common to use "apple count" (altough 'count' means counting, not quantity). What is right, "apple count" or "apples count", and why?  I found  question. Maybe both forms are allowed?
75942
I'd like to say something like "Then, we have the question: why did this happen?" What is a proper way to say this using the phrase "The question then arises..."? Is it "The question then arises as to why this happened."? If this is correct usage, are there other continuations of this phrase (i.e. "The question then arises") that I could use?
89045
These two words have similar meanings, however in certain contexts only one of the two can be used or is used most frequently (fits better idiomatically). Can you give examples of such contexts and if possible explain the difference?
70514
Reopen note:  There is a quite finite and modest amount of evidence in the literature about this issue, which members can record here as they see fit. Less than there is for example about what a noun is or what a verb is, or how to tell what the Subject of a sentence is. It's a simple question, that people need to be able to get answered on a site such as this. It is of continuing interest as more recent questions such as  attest to. The fact that people disagree about the outcome of the evidence does not mean that there is too much evidence to be documented. Quite the reverse. They disagree because there is relatively little evidence altogether. However, it is seriously interesting evidence.   The question   What part of speech is to as in:   I need to know. To err is human, to forgive divine. What am I to do?   This question is not really about the difference in meaning between the examples. It is a question about what grammatical or syntactic reasons we have to classify this item as a particular part of speech. If arguing that it is 'its own part of speech', I'd like to know what grammatical - but not historical - reasons you have for your claim.   Just to clarify, I'm not asking about what assignment any particular authority or publication gives it. I'm interested to know the reasons why. Your own personal insights are also very welcome.  If you're a grammar anorak - like me - then you may want a list of the contenders out there from other grammarians. In no particular order:   preposition subordinator non-finite auxiliary verb modal verb inflectional element   Can you help?
38369
What it says on the tin, a foreign friend of mine has asked and I can't tell him; apart from it sounding horrible.  For example:  "Why is it raining today?"   Instead of:  "Why it is raining today?"
98599
I've been wondering, since these example numbers end with 1, isn't it natural to use the following noun in its singular form?  From what I've been seeing around on the web this does not seem to be the case. All numbers except for 1 are followed by plural nouns.  In some languages you do need to use the singular form with the numbers ending with 1.  How is it supposed to be in English?
74097
I started to learn English recently and I have one misunderstanding about the usage of "all" and "any". In what cases should we use "all" and in what "any"? Why does the following example:     There was something false in all this.   use "all" instead of "any"?