Something is an indefinite pronoun: "I'm going to eat something and then I'll start working."
Something is an indefinite pronoun : a type of word that lacks grammatical definition and that refers to correspondence with a certain class. In order to know precisely the meaning of the term, the first thing we are going to do is discover its etymological origin: it must be emphasized that it is a word that derives from the Latin aliquod , which is the neuter accusative of the pronoun aliquis, aliqua .
Something is used to refer to that which one is not in a position to name or that one does not wish to do so. For example: “I'm going to eat something before I get back to work,” “Excuse me, but there is something that catches my attention in your story,” “I feel like I have to do something to help my father.”
If we analyze the first example , the person speaking announces that he will eat “something” but does not define what. This is possibly because you haven't chosen what your meal will be yet. Something similar happens in the third example: it is likely that the subject wants to collaborate with his father but cannot determine how he will do it. In the second example, the speaker warns his interlocutor that “something” seems strange to him, without wanting to detail what it is that raises doubts.
Something like quantity
The pronoun can also refer to a certain amount that is not specified. Usually it is a small amount or a percentage of a total: “The boss gave me some money, but he still hasn't completed the payment we had agreed upon,” “I'm going to give you something to help you cover the expenses of the operation” , “I still can't see the river: there is still something left to get there” .
Something, likewise, is linked to what is a little or is done to a certain level: “I'm a little tired, but I'm still going to go to the party,” “I speak Italian and German perfectly and I also speak some English on Sunday.” .
An indefinite and insignificant amount can be classified as something: "I can help you, I have some money."
The term in culture
In the field of culture, we come across in many cases the use of the term in question in the titles of films, books, songs... This would be the case, for example, of the famous composition by the Spanish singer Camilo Sesto entitled “Something of me.” It is a single that he published in 1971 and that also gives title to the album in which it is included.
This song is considered one of the best-known of that artist along with others such as “Living is like this is dying of love” , “For love” and “Perdóname” .
Within the field of cinematography, we also find different productions that use the pronoun in question in their titles:
- “Something is wrong with Mary.” ( “Crazy about Mary” en Latin America ). Es una comedia de 1998 dirigida por los hermanos Farrelly y que está protagonizada por Ben Stiller y Cameron Diaz . Cuenta la historia de amor, a lo largo de las décadas, de sus dos protagonistas.
- “Something is happening in Las Vegas” ( “Madness of love in Las Vegas” en el mercado latinoamericano). De 2008 es esta comedia que cuenta cómo un hombre y una mujer, viviendo complicados momentos personales, se conocen embriagados en la ciudad de vegas y acaban casándose. Sin embargo, al despertar y darse cuenta de lo sucedido intentarán cambiar las cosas, pero quizás ya es demasiado tarde.