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If you wish to become somebody/someone in the future, ...

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z7655431

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Jan 12, 2016
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Chinese
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Taiwan
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If you wish to become _____ in the future, you should work harder than others.

(A) somebody
(B) someone
(C) nobody
(D) none

The answer is the question is (A)somebody, but I think (A)somebody and (B)someone are both correct.

According to Collins, someone:
If you say that a person is someone or somebody in a particular kind of work or in a particular place, you mean that they are considered to be important in that kind of work or in that place.

somebody:
a person of greater importance than others

Am I right? Thanks!
 
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emsr2d2

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Grammatically, I agree with you. Colloquially, I would say that most people (in BrE, at least) would use "somebody" in the context of an important figure. In this context, we normally use "somebody" and "nobody", sometimes preceded by the indefinite article.

- Who's he?
- Oh, he's somebody [big] in the art world.

- I'm going to ask that blond guy for his autograph.
- Don't do that!
- Why not?
- He's a nobody. There are actual celebrities here! Try and get their autographs.
 
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