Someone and somebody mean exactly the same: a person you don't name or don't know. The only difference is tone: somebody is slightly more conversational, while someone is more common in writing, so it's the better choice for essays and work emails. Both take a singular verb: Someone is waiting for you.
someone or somebody — can you pick the right one?
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someone/somebody + verb-s; someone else; someone who + verb; ask someone to + verb
- Someone from the bank called while you were at lunch.
- Can somebody help me carry these boxes upstairs?
- If someone asks about the project, send them to me.
What changed
First versionSomeone have left an umbrella in the meeting room.
RevisionSomeone has left an umbrella in the meeting room.
Grammatically, someone is one person, even if you don't know who it was. So it needs has, as with he or she. The only change is have to has.
When you don't know whether it's a man or a woman, you continue with they: Someone left their phone here, maybe they'll come back for it. The verb after someone itself stays singular, and their and they sit comfortably in the same sentence.
Your turn
Somebody ___ been using my mug again, and they didn't wash it.
Show the answer
has — Somebody takes a singular verb, like he or she, so has. Have would go with they or we, but not with somebody, even if they appears later in the sentence.
Describe a time a stranger helped you. Say where it happened and what they did.
Last winter at a train station in Kazan, someone I didn't know helped me lift my heavy suitcase onto the train.
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