Common English Errors: SOME & ANY

Hi, my name is Rebecca and in today's lesson we are going to talk about the difference

between two little words that are often confused by students who are learning English and they

are "some" and "any", ok?

So I've written some notes on the board, let's have a look.

"Some" is used in affirmative sentences.

Affirmative sentences means positive sentences, the opposite of negative.

We're going to look at some examples in a minute, so hang on.

"Any" is used in negative sentences and also in questions, alright?

So let's take an example so you understand these points.

I have some money.

Now here we used "some" because it was an affirmative sentence, it's a positive sentence.

I have some money.

I cannot say I have any money, I have some money.

Now let's look at the next example which is negative.

I don't have any money.

I don't have any money.

Now we used "any" because "any" is used in a negative sentence, alright?

Next one, do you have any money?

Do you have any money?

Right?

Now, it's a question, so again we are able to use the word "any" and not the word "some",

alright?

That's generally how it works.

Another example, do you have any salt?

You could also ask someone, do you have any children, right?

Or do you speak any other languages?

In all these cases, we are using "any" because it is in fact a question, alright?

So that's the basic rule.

That will tell you whether to use "some" or whether to use "any".

Let's look at a few other minor points, ok?

Sometimes "some" is used in a question when we expect "yes" as the answer, alright?

When we expect a positive response, we might use "some" in the question, alright?

I know that makes this a little bit questionable, but this is the basic rule.

This is an exception.

Let's look at the example of the exception.

Would you like some soup?

So when you ask somebody, would you like some soup, we are hoping that they will say yes

because we want to serve them, right?

So we don't say, would you like any soup, but we would say, would you like some soup?

That's more common.

Or could I have some cake?

If you ask someone, could I have some cake, you are hoping that they are going to say

yes and that's why you are using the word "some", alright?

The last point, another exception, is we use the word "any" when we have the words "never"

or "hardly" or "without" in the sentence.

So we could say, for example, he never has any time.

Not he never has some time, but he never has any time.

Or we could say, he hardly has any salt.

He hardly has any time.

He hardly has any books, ok?

Or he passed the exam without making any mistakes, right?

So we can also use the word "without", with "any".

So these two that I told you at the end are the exceptions.

This is the basic rule.

When we come back, I'm going to give you a little quiz to see if you've mastered this

little point.

Ok, so let's try a little quiz now to see how well you've understood the concept of

"some" and "any", alright?

Let's take the first one.

I don't want _____ pizza.

I don't want _____ pizza.

What would you say?

"Some" or "any", ok?

The correct answer would be "any".

I don't want any pizza because it's a negative sentence, alright?

Next one.

He has _____ issues.

"Issues" is another word we can use instead of "problems", alright?

He has _____ issues.

What do we say there, "some" or "any", ok?

He has some issues.

That's because it's a positive sentence, alright?

Next one.

Do you have _____ tacos?

Do you have _____ tacos?

Tacos, of course, is very tasty food from Mexico, ok?

Do you have _____ any tacos, right?

Because it's a question.

Next one.

Would you like _____ borecas?

"Borecas" is a very tasty food from the Middle East.

Would you like _____ borecas?

What do we say there, "some" or "any"?

"Some" because even though it's a question, we are expecting "yes" as the answer and

therefore we can use "some" in this question, right?

Last one.

She never has _____ time for me.

She never has _____ time for me.

So would we say "some" or "any"?

Think about it, ok?

Again, this is an exception, even though it's a sentence, because we're using the word "never",

we are using the word "any".

She never has any time for me, ok?

You know, it can be a little bit confusing, but it's also got pretty logical explanation.

So do a lot of practice, if you'd like to do a quiz on this, please visit our website

www.engvid.com.

You can do a quiz and you can also see many other English lessons on other aspects of

English.

Good luck with your English.

Bye for now.