can one say ‘they are some’ I will explain why I ask, I teach french children English and they are learning objects’ so the exercise is I say ‘What is it?‘and they are to reply ‘It is a ____.’ The problem is their curriculum states they must learn to say ‘some scissors’ and ‘some glue’ but you cannot say ‘it is some scissors as it is plural’( you can say it is a pair of scissors - but I am told they must learn some scissors) so do I teach them to reply ‘they are scissors or ‘they are some scissors’ and do they say ‘it is glue or ‘it is some glue’ I am very confused and hope someone can help.
can one say ‘they are some’ I will explain why I ask, I teach french children English and they are learning objects’ so the exercise is I say ‘What is it?‘and they are to reply ‘It is a ____.’ The problem is their curriculum states they must learn to say ‘some scissors’ and ‘some glue’ but you cannot say ‘it is some scissors as it is plural’( you can say it is a pair of scissors - but I am told they must learn some scissors) so do I teach them to reply ‘they are scissors or ‘they are some scissors’ and do they say ‘it is glue or ‘it is some glue’ I am very confused and hope someone can help.
Salut Salut!
I’ve thought about this for a while, trying to think what I would automically say if shown a picture of scissors.
most likely
a pair of scissors (by some way)
some scissors
they are scissors
it is some scissors (this feels right saying but not sure, guess someone will correct me if wrong)
to compare to something that does have singular and plural.
they are apples
some apples
it is some apples
can one say ‘they are some’ I will explain why I ask, I teach french children English and they are learning objects’ so the exercise is I say ‘What is it?‘and they are to reply ‘It is a ____.’ The problem is their curriculum states they must learn to say ‘some scissors’ and ‘some glue’ but you cannot say ‘it is some scissors as it is plural’( you can say it is a pair of scissors - but I am told they must learn some scissors) so do I teach them to reply ‘they are scissors or ‘they are some scissors’ and do they say ‘it is glue or ‘it is some glue’ I am very confused and hope someone can help.
We have had discussion here, and there is discussion elsewhere as to whether scissors is plural, as well as pants, trousers.
I hear ” It is some pants”. I have said “it is some scissors”. As a teacher I have said “Get me some scissors, quickly.” - when faced with a situation where they
are needed, they being the operative word. It is a singular tool, as are shears, but plural in usage. So “some scissors” can be OK in some circles, as can
“some glue”. When wrapping a package, and needing to fasten something down, it can be said: “Get me some glue”, or “get some glue”. As a grammar teacher
I would go with it as singular.
I don’t think there is anything terribly ungrammatical about “they are some scissors,” but it’s not something we say. If you’re teaching English, teach it the way it is spoken.
You certainly can meet the curriculum requirements by teaching the kids to say, “I have some scissors” or “he bought some scissors.” However, you should also teach them to say, “They are scissors” instead of teaching them to say something that an English speaker would find strange.
I am sure that the curriculum designers insist on their learning “some scissors” because of the way we use certain articles with count nouns and others with mass nouns. But while you can say, “I want some ice cream,” you should not say (or teach) “this is some ice cream” when “this is ice cream” is the more natural way to say it.
Perhaps not in SC, but here it is Very Common to say “There are some scissors over there on the counter, get them, please.”
“They are scissors” would sound terribly out of place here.
I agree teaching the correct usage is important, but there is the “King’s English,” and there is common parlance.
The other day (because our recent discussion was in the back of my head) I heard a nurse at the hospital where I volunteer say:“Get me some scissors out of the top drawer of the tech’s desk, will you,
Patty?”.
I don’t find that strange at all. I ask dog every night if she wants some ice cream, and she gets a dab as I get mine. To say “I bought some pants today”, would be very common here.
Technicalities of grammar are not my strong point but hearing the word “some” in the sentence seems to to make it a more definite thing.
i.e they are scissors - a general statement.
they are some scissors - some particular pair
incidently “King’s English”? we moved on a while ago, I see you stuck with it!
Technicalities of grammar are not my strong point but hearing the word “some” in the sentence seems to to make it a more definite thing.
i.e they are scissors - a general statement.
they are some scissors - some particular pair
Interesting. I can’t imagine a situation where I would say “they are some scissors.”
In response to the following questions, I would say the following:
What are these? They are scissors.
What do you need? I need some scissors.
Do you have anything to cut this with? There are some scissors on the counter.
Having said all that, you should know that my wife won’t let me play with scissors.
