Some/Any
Introcuction
Some and any are determiners. They suggest an unspecified amount or number. We use them when we don’t know or it’s not important to say exactly how much/how many of somthing there is. Knowing when to use some and when to use any isn’t tricky, but it does take some practise.
Some
- use some in positive sentences
- Example:
- There are some strawberries in the fridge.
- There is some milk in the fridge.
- use some in questions when we expect the answer to be yes (offers and requests)
- Example:
- Would you like some tea?
Any
- use any in negative sentences, and questions
- Example:
- There aren’t any eggs in the fridge.
- Is there any milk in the fridge?
- use any in positive sentences after words with a negative meaning i.e. never, hardly, without, little
- Example:
- You never have any time for me.
Someone, Somebody, Anyone, Anybody, Something, Anything
We can add the suffixes, -thing, -one, -body, -where to create indefinite pronouns. The suffixes -body and -one have the same meaning. -body is more common in spoken English and -one is more commen in written English.
some- and any-
We use something, someone, somewhere, anything, anyone, anywhere in the same way as some and any.
- Example:
- You’ve got something in your hair.
-
positive sentence
- He didn’t say anything.
-
negative sentence
- Do you want to go somewhere new for dinner tonight?
-
offer/suggestion, we expect the answer to be yes
- Yes, but I don’t want to go anywhere expensive.
-
negative sentence
For information about the difference between anything and everything, or anything and nothing see indefinite propouns. For the differenece between every and any see Every/Any.