Learn English- Online English Courses - Unit 13

Grammar

1. Quantifiers - Some / Any

Quantifiers are words that show how much there is of something - they show quantity. Numbers for example are also quantifiers.

Some

Some is used to show an indefinite quantity, the exact number is not important. It is used in affirmative statements, for example:
- I have some books.
- She wants some apples.

Some is also in questions, but only when you think the answer wil be "Yes". For example:
- Do you have some paper? (I hope the answer is "Yes")
- Would you like some french fries? ( I expect the anwer is "Yes")

Any

Any is used in negative statements. For example:
- I don't have any money.
- There aren't any taxis near here.

Any is also generally used in questions, especially when we expect the answer to be "No". for example:
- Do you have any paper? (I expect the answer will probably be "No")
- Is there any time to go to the doctor's? ( I think there probably isn't time).

This can however look and sound awkward, so you can sometimes just use ' instead. For example with names:
Thomas's book, Tess's house can also be Thomas' book, Tess' house.

Some and any are often used like articles for plural nouns. A/an is used for singular countable nouns, and some/any can be used for plural noun, countable or uncountable. For example:
I have a newspaper, some newspapers, and some money.
"A newspaper" is a singular countable noun so uses a, "newspapers" is a plural countable nouns so uses some, and money is an uncountable noun so also uses some.

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As always it seems complicated especially the first time, but when you use grammar rather than just read about it it makes much more sense, and as you grow in experience and confidence you'll soon be learning to use English grammar well. On with the exercises!

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