Some of this music...

Question

There have been so many films made, with excellent soundtracks, but (some of this music has) never been commercially available.

I wonder if the marked fragment is correct. Is it possible to say "some of this"? To my knowledge, it should be "some of these", but "music" cannot be treated as a plural noun, can it?

Regards
Cairon

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]There have been so many films made, with excellent soundtracks, but (some of this music has) never been commercially available. ... To my knowledge, it should be "some of these", but "music" cannot be treated as a plural noun, can it?[/nq]
It's fine. These are all fine:
Some of this work is finished.
Some of this food has spoiled.
Some of this money is yours.

Best - Donna Richoux

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]There have been so many films made, with excellent soundtracks, but (some of this music has) never been commercially available. I wonder if the marked fragment is correct.[/nq]
Of course not: no music has been mentioned, so "this music" is trying to highlight a concept that isn't present. (Soundtracks are not music.)
[nq:1]Is it possible to say "some of this"?[/nq]
No, it isn't. The preceding nouns, & are plural, but resumes a singular noun.
[nq:1]To my knowledge, it should be "some of these"[/nq]
Yes, if you mean "some of these films have," but some readers will think you mean "some of these soundtracks have," so it remains problematic.
[nq:1]"music" cannot be treated as a plural noun, can it?[/nq]
No, it can't: it's a singular noun; its plural is .

Usenet · Answer

"Cairon" quoted:
[nq:2]There have been so many films made, with excellent soundtracks, but (some of this music has) never been commercially available.[/nq]
And asked:
[nq:2]I wonder if the marked fragment is correct.[/nq]
Yes, it's correct.
[nq:1]Of course not: no music has been mentioned, so "this music" is trying to highlight a concept that isn't present. (Soundtracks are not music.)[/nq]
They are in this context. "Soundtrack" is often used informally to to refer to all the songs in a movie, and that's the sense here.
[nq:2]Is it possible to say "some of this"?[/nq]
[nq:1]No, it isn't. The preceding nouns, & are plural, but resumes a singular noun.[/nq]
"Music" is a mass noun and, in normal usage, does not pluralize. Therefore "this" is the correct modifier.

Mark Brader "I like to think of (this) as self-explanatory." Toronto "I hope *I* think of (it) that way." (Email Removed) Donald Westlake: "Trust Me On This"

My text in this article is in the public domain.

Usenet · Answer

Akcherly, since the soundtrack is more than just the music, the correct modifier would be "the", not "this". That eliminates the conflict in understanding of what a soundtrack might be in the minds of different readers.

Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/

Some of this music...

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions