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Why 'some' is used, not 'a'?

Hi
I was reading a dictionary for my kid but I can't get meaning of this sentence, "That is some house"? I'm wondering why 'some' is used, not 'a'?

Thank you.

PS: Immerse yourself in these free English lessons: Class: Colors — Useful English Idioms — Collocations with keep — About

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nmesomtoChukwu profile picture nmesomtoChukwuMarch 2019

Hi,
"Some" in that context is just an expression of amazement. Replacing "some" with synonyms according to the context the sentence becomes:
• That's an incredible house, Chips!
• That's a remarkable house, Chips!
• That's a striking house, Chips!
Or
• What a house, Chips!

Here's a link to the definition from a dictionary:
 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/some
* Check the third definition.

Also, sometimes this sentence might be:

• That's one house, Chips!
In this sentence "one" isn't used to number the house but it's used in the same context as "some" in your question. 

Reishii profile picture ReishiiAugust 2019

Here is a clip from the movie JAWS that shows this type of phrase in use, as well as the emphasis put on 'some': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7npJpvI6E4

anton_maximov profile picture anton_maximovMarch 2019
Hi, I will try to explain you this, if I am wrong , someone will correct me. "Some" in that particular sentence means that that same house mentioned in the previous phrase is just any house standing in any place of the world. There's nothing special in it, it's just as any house you can run into.