somebody

/ˈsʌmbədi/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈsʌmbədi/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈsəm-(ˌ)bə-dē -ˌbä-/ (ame, mw)

somebody — pronoun

1. an unknown or unnamed person; a word used when the speaker does not know or does

1.代名詞A1
釋義

an unknown or unnamed person; a word used when the speaker does not know or does not need to say who the person is

例句

Somebody left their bag in the classroom this morning.

somebody + possessive 'their' — unspecified owner

Can somebody help Hui carry these heavy boxes to the car?

question form: can somebody + infinitive

同義詞
  • someone

    identical meaning; slightly more common in formal or written English

  • a person

    more general and literal; often used when the focus is on the individual rather than the unknown identity

反義詞
  • nobody

    means 'no person at all' — the opposite of an unspecified somebody

  • no one

    equivalent to nobody; marks the absence of any person

文法句型

somebody + verb (singular)

somebody + else

somebody + relative clause

用法筆記

Somebody and someone have the same meaning and can be used in most of the same situations. Somebody is more common in everyday spoken English, while someone is slightly more frequent in formal writing. In negative sentences, use anybody instead: 'I did not see anybody there.'

常見錯誤

❌Somebody is waiting for you — his name is Mr. Chen.
✅Someone is waiting for you
💡his name is Mr. Chen.' — Use 'someone' (not 'somebody') when the person's identity is known to you but not yet to the listener.
❌I did not see somebody on the street.
✅I did not see anybody on the street.
💡In negative sentences, English uses 'anybody'/'anyone', not 'somebody'/'someone'.

somebody — noun