some students vs students — event vs category (Murphy Unit 71, Countable nouns)
Pattern
Section titled “Pattern”-
bare plural (students) = generic / category: all students, students in general
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some + plural (some students) = event reading: an unspecified number in a specific incident
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I met some students in a cafe yesterday. ✓ (event, unknown count)
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Students learn fast. (generic truth)
Event vs category reading
Section titled “Event vs category reading”| Form | Reading | Example |
|---|---|---|
| some students | event — specific incident, unknown number | I met some students yesterday. |
| students (bare) | category — general truth about the class | Students learn fast. |
| the students | specific known ones | The students in my class passed. |
Why bare plural fails in a past event
Section titled “Why bare plural fails in a past event”“I met ___ students in a cafe yesterday” — the specific past time forces the event reading, which needs some:
- I met students yesterday → odd — reads like you met the whole category
- I met some students yesterday → natural — an unspecified few
Context clue: a specific event at a specific time (yesterday, last week, in the cafe) → some. A general statement with no time → bare plural.
Indonesian parallel
Section titled “Indonesian parallel”| Indonesian | English |
|---|---|
| Saya bertemu mahasiswa kemarin (bare) | needs some: I met some students yesterday |
| Saya bertemu beberapa mahasiswa kemarin | I met some students yesterday ✓ |
| Mahasiswa belajar cepat | Students learn fast (generic ✓) |
Indonesian behaves the same way — bare noun leans generic; “beberapa” (some) marks the event reading.
Test application
Section titled “Test application”I met ___ students in a cafe yesterday. They were from China.
Answer: some — first mention of plural countable in a specific past event.
Why not the bare plural? — “met students yesterday” reads as the category; the event reading needs “some”.
Source
Section titled “Source”Raymond Murphy, English Grammar in Use (4th ed.), Unit 71 — Countable nouns with a/an and some. Ebot lesson 2026-08-29: “I met ___ students in a cafe yesterday” → some (event reading vs category).