Two tiny little words, so many mistakes.
Do you make mistakes with some and any?
Even if you think you know the rules, I guarantee you're going to learn something today.
We are going beyond the basics.
In this lesson, we will focus on points that often confuse my students.
But if you want to learn everything there is to know about some and any, You need to download my free some and any guide that goes with this lesson.
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It will teach you almost everything you need to know about the words.
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Okay, let's get started.
We are talking about some and any as determiners and pronouns in this video.
As determiners they come before a noun and as pronouns they're used alone when the noun is easily understood, but their meanings are generally the same.
We will begin with the basic rules.
We use some to refer to an unknown or unspecified amount or number of something.
The exact quantity isn't important, but it's limited.
Some means not all.
Some is used with plural and uncountable nouns in positive sentences.
For example, I posted some photos from the concert.
Photos is a plural, countable noun.
Or we need some local advice about the best restaurants in Barcelona.
Advice is an uncountable noun.
Now notice, I didn't say some.
I said some, some, with a schwa sound.
Some is the weak form of some.
It's said quickly without emphasis.
I posted some photos.
We need some advice.
This is some as a determiner used before a noun.
As a pronoun, we usually use the strong form, some.
Let's say my husband asks if we have biscuits at home.
I might reply, no, I'll buy some.
In some accents, however, some is never pronounced with the uh vowel.
An uh or schwa, is used instead.
Any refers to a quantity of something no matter how large or small.
We usually use it with plural and uncountable nouns in questions and negative sentences.
For example, is there any pizza left?
Pizza is an uncountable noun.
Or, have you got any plans for the weekend?
Plans is a plural noun.
In negative sentences, not any means none or not one.
For example, can you buy a pint of milk?
We haven't got any.
Here, any is a pronoun replacing any milk.
So, which of these sentences is correct?
Would you like some tea?
Would you like any tea?
Well, both are grammatically correct.
You might have been taught that you can't use some in questions, but that rule needs updating.
We sometimes use some in questions when we're expecting a positive answer.
In our example, we might think it's likely the person will say yes to tea, so some would be fine.
Any is also okay, particularly if we're not sure what the answer will be.
You'll often see some used in questions beginning, would you like and do you want.
For example, do you want some help?
I expect.
They'll say yes.
Again, do you want any help is also fine, though I may be less sure what their answer will be.
Let's look at a few more ways we use these words.
We can also use any after certain negative or limiting adverbs like never, hardly, and barely.
For example, there's never any traffic at this hour.
Or they barely spoke any Spanish but we managed to communicate.
Notice that the verb is positive.
There is and they spoke.
So any can be used with positive verbs when combined with negative adverbs.
And we can use any after certain verbs with a negative meaning, like forbid, ban, and prevent.
For example, the new rules prevent any cars from entering the city centre after 8am.
No cars are allowed.
Now, let's talk about a common mistake with some.
Remember, some implies a limited quantity.
I posted some photos means not all my photos.
We don't use some when the quantity is unlimited or almost unlimited.
For example, we don't say, there are some kangaroos in Australia.
We would say, there are kangaroos or there are millions of kangaroos in Australia.
When we're talking about particular kangaroos, we can use some.
There are some kangaroos in Australia that are almost two and a half metres tall.
Not all kangaroos are that tall.
So some is used to talk about particular members of a group or particular types of a thing, but not all.
We tend to use the strong form, some.
For example, some birds can't fly, like penguins.
There, some is followed by a negative verb, which is possible in this use.
Another example, I like some flavours of ice cream, but not vanilla or strawberry.
We can use any to refer to one or a number of things or people when it doesn't matter which.
It's usually used with singular countable nouns.
Can we pick any seat we want?
The whole cinema is empty.
You can also use any with plural and uncountable nouns with this meaning.
Yes, any seats near the middle will give you a good view.
All of the seats near the middle have good views.
Compare that with some.
Some seats near the middle will give you a good view.
This means a portion of the seats near the middle but not all of them.
Any of and some of are similar.
Any of can mean one or all of a group.
And both any of and some of can refer to a part of a group.
We tend to use any of in questions and negatives and some of in positive sentences.
They're usually followed by a noun phrase.
For example, have you read any of the emails I sent you?
Have you read one, a part of them, or all of them?
I've read some of them, but I haven't had time to read them all yet.
Okay, let's do a little recap.
Here are four correct sentences with some and any.
She likes any sports.
This means all sports, it's unlimited.
She likes some sports.
This is limited, not all sports.
She doesn't like some sports.
Again, it's limited.
And she doesn't like any sports.
This means zero.
It's unlimited.
Okay, now we're going to look at a few common mistakes to really cement what we're learning.
I often hear this from my students.
If you're looking for some good restaurant, I can recommend the Italian corner.
What should we use instead of some?
Well, we should use a if you're looking for a good restaurant.
We don't use some with singular countable nouns when we mean one specific thing.
Another common mistake with some, don't use some as a pronoun in negative sentences.
For example, did you buy those biscuits?
Sorry, there weren't some.
It should be, sorry, there weren't any.
And lastly, can you spot a mistake with any in this negative sentence?
There's any peanut butter left.
A lot of students think any is negative on its own, but it's not.
To make the sentence negative and correct, we need to add not.
There isn't any peanut butter left.
We could also use no.
This is more emphatic and less common.
There's no peanut butter left.
And remember, we can use a negative adverb like never too.
There's never any peanut butter left for me.
Okay, are you ready to check what you've learnt?
Let's do a little quiz.
Complete the sentences with some or any.
Number one, I didn't enjoy the party because I didn't know... of the guests, not a single person.
Number two, animals have very sharp teeth.
Three, would you like more coffee?
Four, there's never milk left when I want cereal.
And five, Shirley doesn't trust of her colleagues.
Pause the video now if you need more time, and then we'll go through the answers together.
Number one, this should be any because you didn't know one person.
Two should be some.
Certain animals have sharp teeth but not all.
Three, this could be some or any.
Some if we expect a positive response and any if we expect a negative one or if we're not sure how they'll answer.
Four, should be any.
Remember, we can use any after negative adverbs.
And five, I'll admit this, it's quite tricky.
It could be any, she trusts zero colleagues. or it could be some.
She trusts certain people, but not others.
I wonder which you chose.
If you chose both, you were super correct.
Okay, how did you do on that quiz?
Let me know your score in the comments.
And that brings us to the end of the lesson.
If you have any questions questions, leave them in the comments and i'll answer them for you.
Also, do not forget to download the sum and any pdf guide.
The link is in the description box and the qr code is there.
We go into a lot more detail.
I will see you in the next lesson bye.
