0

There are lots of examples where the definite article is used with the pronoun 'someone', for example:

I never knew you were the someone waiting for me. (Source.)
How about a little something special for the someone who truly deserves it?
For all creative people we suggest to place the someone works (poems, stories, songs, figures, an art photo, etc.) on this site.

I wonder what does 'the' mean in contexts like these and are there any other cases when we can use the definite article before a pronoun? Are these examples grammatically correct?

1
  • 1
    The Ed Sheeran lyrics example is effectively "romantic poetry" - in which context we often conventionally assume everyone has one specific "soulmate" that they're searching for (or have found, depending on whether it's a blues song or a love song). And something special for the someone who truly deserves it is more an example of "playing with language" than a reflection of normal English syntax. Finally, place the someone works is syntactic gibberish - it's effectively a "form filling" exercise where you're expected to write the actual artist's name instead of the someone. Commented Aug 10, 2018 at 15:07

2 Answers 2

1

"Someone" normally refers to a specific person (even if you haven't identified them) so normally it would not require the definite article. For example: "There is someone in my house".

If your sentence used a less specific word like "person" then you would expect the definite article:

I never knew you were the person waiting for me.

Your sentence doesn't really make sense out of context, but it suggests that the speaker has already referred to an unidentified person as "somebody", and then gone on to link that to the person they are now speaking to.

For example:

My boss said somebody was waiting for me. I never knew you were the someone.

3
  • Thank you! But is this case the only one? And is it grammatically correct and may it be used in a neutral context?
    – Aer
    Commented Aug 10, 2018 at 15:07
  • No, without any context it is not correct. I have suggested one possible context where it may be understood. I don't know what you mean by "neutral context".
    – Astralbee
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 7:49
  • Sorry, I've misused this term. I meant neutral style, register.
    – Aer
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 18:25
2

Someone in this context isn't just any someone, but that special someone.

There are several indefinite pronouns you can add the definite article to, like one, many and few.

E.g. the Marine Corps' recruiting slogan,

"The Few. The Proud. The Marines."

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .