The words Someone and Somebody are quite similar to each other and can always be used interchangeably. These words share similar meanings but differ from each other in terms of their tone and context they are spoken.
The words Someone and Somebody are synonyms. Generally, many writers and speakers choose to use the word Someone instead of Somebody and it is preferred to be used in the formal writings.
Although, the word Someone looks more appealing but this does not happens every time. Under some conditions and sentences, the word Somebody sounds more suitable than the word Someone.
Someone vs Somebody
The main difference between Someone and Somebody is that Someone is used when you are not aware of the person and there are many people to choose from. On the other hand, Somebody is used when you refer to a person but you have less number of people to choose from.
The word Someone is considered to be more formal to use as compared to the word Somebody just like the words everyone and everybody and the words anyone and anybody. The former words are considered to be more formal as compared to the latter words.
Comparison Table Between Someone and Somebody
| Parameters of Comparison | Someone | Somebody |
| Definition | Someone is used when you are not aware who the person is and there are many people to decide from. | Somebody is used when you refer to a person but you have less amount of people to choose from. |
| In Writing | Someone is used in the formal writings. | Somebody is used in slang, casual and unofficial writing. |
| Use | Someone sounds more personal, exclusive and formal. | Somebody sounds more indefinite, informal and distant. |
| How It Feels | Someone feels more pleasing and likable. | Somebody does not sound that appealing and is used only in limited occasions. |
| Example | Someone is here to see you, my dear | If somebody’s at a better position, he gains the upper hand. |
What is Someone
The word Someone is a pronoun. This word is used when you are in between a lot of people and you are referring to a person who you do not know.
For example, “Someone left the room and now has gone lost”. In this case, you are referring to a person who has left the party among so many people and you have no idea who that person is.
The use of Someone comes when there are a lot of people to choose from but you do not know who the person is. This word sounds more exclusive and formal in conversations and writings like college essays or work emails with your boss. Someone feels more personal.
For example, “Someone made my day extraordinary!” In this case, the word Someone makes a formal acknowledgment. Another example could be, “I know someone who provides guitar lessons.”
The word Someone sounds more appealing and likable. It is appropriate to use the word Someone in the formal writing.
An example for Someone: Princess Mary sat alone in her room listening to the sounds in the house, now and then opening her door when someone passed and watching what was going on in the passage.
What is Somebody
The word Somebody is a pronoun. This word is used when you are at a place and you want to refer to a person with a slight importance.
For example, “Somebody killed my cat”. In this case, the word somebody is used to refer to the person who you might know but is unknown in the current situation.
The word somebody is used when we are referring a person from a group of less number of people. This word sounds somewhat informal in conversations and writings. Sometimes in verbal conversations, the word somebody sounds a bit relaxed and informal.
The word Somebody appears to be more concealed and abstract. This word gives a distant, vague and unreal nuance to the other person. The word Somebody is an engaging word but under certain conditions only. It sounds like casual and slang in formal writings.
For example, “Somebody made my day extraordinary!” sounds a little relaxed and informal. Another example of Somebody could be “Somebody has obviously made a mistake.”
Main Differences Between Someone and Somebody
- The word Someone is used when we have no idea who the person is and there are a lot of people to decide from. On the other hand, the word Somebody is used when we have to refer to a person and there are less number of people to choose from.
- Someone sounds like more personal, exclusive and formal whereas Somebody sounds more vague, informal and distant.
- Someone is used more in formal writings whereas Somebody is used in slang, casual, and unofficial language.
- Someone looks more pleasing and likable whereas Somebody lacks engagement and looks less appealing and hence is only used under limited circumstances.
- An example for Someone is “Her first thought was that it was a puppy someone had dropped off.” An example for Somebody is “I told you sooner or later somebody would take that whip away from you.”
Conclusion
Both of them are used when we have to refer to an unspecified person.
Both the words Someone and Somebody can be used interchangeably but the word Someone is preferred more by the native speakers to use in the formal writings and conversations.
The word Somebody has the word ‘body’ in it and therefore it is considered to be a little bit informal and is used in the casual conversations, especially if the conversation has a physical component. It is not used in the conversations that are formal.
References
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13596748.2011.549726
- http://hmbul.ru/articles/180/eng/180.pdf