SOME and ANY | the complete grammar guide with TEST and VIDEO!
Hi everyone! In today’s blog we are going to be looking at SOME and ANY. This grammar guide will help you get a complete understanding of the differences between the two and when to use them. At the end there will be a test for you, and I’ve included my YouTube lesson on this topic as well. Are you ready? Let’s begin!
Everything with SOME and ANY depends on 2 things:
1) The sentence type:
positive | negative | question
2) The noun type:
singular noun | plural noun | uncountable noun
Remember these 2 things when you are studying SOME and ANY.
Let’s start with the most common grammar rule. SOME and ANY are most commonly used in this way:
We use SOME with plural / uncountable nouns in POSITIVE sentences*.
I have some time before my meeting. (positive)
We saw some butterflies on our walk. (positive)
*You can use SOME in a negative sentence if it starts the sentence:
Some people don’t like musicals. I can’t understand why.
We use ANY with plural / uncountable nouns in NEGATIVE sentences and QUESTIONS.
I don’t have any time before my meeting. (negative)
Do you have any time before your meeting? (question)
We didn’t see any butterflies on our walk. (negative)
Did you see any butterflies on your walk? (question)
*You can remove the noun after SOME and ANY if it’s already clear in the conversation.
Mom: Do you need some money?
Son: No thanks, Dad already gave me some. (It’s clear the son means “some money”.)
BUT! If a positive sentence means something negative, you can use ANY:
I gave my speech without any notes. = 0 notes
You hardly ate any dinner. Are you OK? = almost 0 dinner
But, what are SOME and ANY? What do they mean?
SOME and ANY refer to an unspecifc and limited amount or number.
I have some time before my meeting.
✅Unspecific: It’s not clear if I mean 5 minutes, 10 minutes or 20 minutes, etc.
✅Limited: It’s clear I don’t mean 10 hours!
Do you have any time before your meeting?
✅Unspecific: It’s not important if I mean 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 20 minutes, etc.
✅Limited: It’s clear I’m not asking if you have 10 hours before your meeting!
Are SOME and ANY necessary? Can we remove them?
Yes, you can remove them, but the feeling is a bit different.
COMPARE:
Mushrooms don’t need light to grow. – a fact
Mushrooms don’t need any light to grow. – emphasizing the fact
You don’t need more coffee, Ann. You need sleep. – “Sleep” in general.
I think some sleep would make you feel better. How about a nap? – Here, I am emphasizing an unspecific, but limited amount of sleep. Not “sleep” in general.
3 EXCEPTIONS to the main rule
1. We can use SOME in questions if we expect the answer to be “yes”. Usually, we are offering someone something.
Would you like some coffee?
Do you want some ice-cream?
Can I give you some advice?
Let’s compare:
Do you need some help? = I’m expecting the answer to be “yes”.
Do you need any help? = This is just a general question.
2. We can use ANY with a singular noun.
In a positive sentence: It doesn’t matter which one you choose.
I think any color would be fine for your brand. It doesn’t matter which color you choose.
You can use any type of sweetener in this recipe. It doesn’t have to be sugar. Honey would work well.
In a negative sentence: It does matter.
You can’t use any color for the poster. You need to use the school’s colors: red and blue. (It does matter which colors you use.)
Please speak to a pharmacist because I’m pretty sure you can’t just take any painkiller. (It does matter which painkiller you take.)
In a question: Does it matter?
A: Is any pizza OK with you?
B: Yeah, as long as there is no pineapple on it.
Can I choose any friend to write me a character reference?
3. We can use SOME with a singular noun when we are emphasizing that someone / something is unknown. (And usually we are complaining)
Some lady with bright red hair stepped on my foot and didn’t even say sorry.
Some kid didn’t even touch their lunch. What a waste.
Is there some way we can fix this?
*Please remember that SOME is not a replacement for A/AN in a regular sentence:
X I need some red pen for this document.
✅ I need a red pen. (This is just a regular sentence.)
X I bought some new t-shirt.
✅I bought a new t-shirt. (This is just a regular sentence.)
Are you ready for a test? Leave me your test score in the comments below!
Choose SOME or ANY.
1) I think this soup needs some / any more salt.
2) Really? I don’t think this soup needs some / any more salt.
3) I can’t believe some / any customer tried to flush a t-shirt down the toilet!
4) You can choose some / any username you like. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it’s not offensive.
5) Some / Any applicants didn’t fill out the form correctly.
6) No, you can’t use some / any shampoo on your dog. It has to be pet shampoo.
7) You look thirsty. Would you like some / any ice tea?
8) Are there some / any conference attendees who have not received a welcome pack?
9) We bought some / any toys for my nieces and nephews.
10) I looked for some / any organic honey, (11) but couldn’t find some / any.
Here are the answers! Keep scrolling…
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1) I think this soup needs some / any more salt.
2) Really? I don’t think this soup needs some / any more salt.
3) I can’t believe some / any customer tried to flush a t-shirt down the toilet!
4) You can choose some / any username you like. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it’s not offensive.
5) Some / Any applicants didn’t fill out the form correctly.
6) No, you can’t use some / any shampoo on your dog. It has to be pet shampoo.
7) You look thirsty. Would you like some / any ice tea?
8) Are there some / any conference attendees who have not received a welcome pack?
9) We bought some / any toys for my nieces and nephews.
10) I looked for some / any organic honey, (11) but couldn’t find some / any.
EXPLANATION
#s 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11 all follow that basic rule: SOME in positive sentences and ANY in negatives and questions.
#5 is an exception. We can use SOME in a negative sentence if it begins a sentence.
#3 is a complaint about an unknown customer.
#4 is used because it doesn’t matter what username you choose.
#6 is the opposite. It does matter.
#7 : ANY is also correct, but normally SOME is the word we use when we expect the answer to be yes.
Thank you very much for reading!
Don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel, Instagram, Facebook and Blog!
See you next time!
Arnel 🙂
