6.60 390 - Pronouns and numerals Nonassertive, interrogative, negative: Didn’t Pam buy any apples? Nonassertive, negative: Pam didn't buy any apples Besides not, the negative forms whose scope favours nonassertive forms include for example the following (cf 10.60): (a) Words negative in form: never, no, neither, nor (b) Words negative in meaning: (i) the adverbs and determiners hardly, little, few, only, seldom, etc (ii) the ‘implied negatives’ just,. before; fail, prevent; reluctant, hard, difficult, etc; and comparisons with roo Compare the following assertive/nonassertive pairs of sentences: Jean will always manage to do something useful, Jean will never manage to do anything useful. There was a good chance somebody would come. There was /ittle chance anybody would come. oe ‘was eager to read some (of the) books. John was aan to read any (of the) books. Some and any series The main ‘superficial’ markers of nonassertion are negative, interrogative, and conditional clauses, but it is the underlying or basic meaning of the whole sentence which ultimately conditions the choice of the some or the any series (cf 10.61). For example, in sentence [1], the basic meaning is negative and nonassertive, as appears in the paraphrase [la]: Freud conttibuted more than anyone to the understanding of dreams. 1) Nobody contributed as much to the understanding of dreams as Freud. {la} Conversely, some is often used in negative, interrogative, and conditional sentences, when the basic meaning is assertive (‘positive orientation’, of 11.6): aq {somebody “one? Did {ames dy } telephone last night? The difference between these last two can be explained in terms of different presuppositions: somebody rather suggests that the speaker expected a telephone call, whereas anybody does not. In making an invitation or an offer, it is for the same reason polite to presuppose an acceptance: Would you like some wine? The following sentences illustrate further the use of the some series in superficially nonassertive contexts:Note 6.61 Pronouns 391 If someone were to drop a match here, the house would be on fire in two minutes. But what if somebody decides to break the rules? Will somebody please open the door? Why don’t you ask some other question? ‘The primary difference between some and any isthat some is specific, though unspecified, white any is nonspecific (6f 10.60). Any and either Any is distinguished from either in representing a choice between three or more, while either limits the choice to two; thus either, like both (cf 6.50) and neither (cf 6.62), has dual meaning. This difference obtains whether the determiner or the pronoun js used: ny of my relatives either of my parents any part of the roof? either end of the tunnel? Thaven't written to { | about the marriage. Can oust { Any is also used for plural and noncount phrases: Have you seen any (of the) men working on this site? Don’t spill any ((of the) wine). On concord of verbs and pronouns with any, of 10.42 ‘Any in its stressed form occurs in ‘assertive territory’ with the meaning ‘it doesn't matter which/who/what’. This is uncommon except (a) where the clause contains a modal auxiliary (especially will, can, or may), or (b) where the noun phrase introduced by any contains restrictive postmodification (especially a relative clause): He will eat any kind of vegetables. Any dog might bite a child if teased Any offer would be better than this. Ladvise you to accept any offer you receive. The compound pronouns anybody, anyone, and anything are similarly used: He will eat anything. Anyone who tells lies is punished. Anda parallel use of efther, where the hearer is offered a choice between two, is exemplified in: You can ask either of us to help you. Either of the other offers would be preferable to this. The following sentences illustrate yet another superficially assertive use of any: Please return any overdue books to the library. We are grateful for any aid the public can give.