12.

8 Quantifiers some vs any

Some and any.

[00:00:01] We use some in any to describe quantity. We use them when we don't want to be, or
don't need to be specific when describing a thing, or the amount of a thing.

[00:00:11] Let's start with these examples.

[00:00:13] I saw some really cute dogs at the park today.

[00:00:16] Do I remember specifically how many? No. Doesn't sound like it. Do I want to or need
to tell the person I'm talking to how many dogs I saw? No! Do they care? Probably not. This is
why we use some in this case.

[00:00:29] I didn't see any dogs at the park today.

[00:00:32] So I saw a zero dogs. Too bad, huh. Here any functions as a way of saying none. And
saying zero sounds too specific and adds too much emphasis for this situation. Using zero would
be just like giving the number of dogs I saw in the previous example, it would be too specific.

[00:00:49] Rules.

[00:00:50] So let's go over the rules for some and any. Don't worry though, because there aren't
that many rules and we use the same rules for other words containing some and any. For
example somebody. Anybody. Something anything. Somewhere anywhere.

[00:01:05] Positive sentences with some.

[00:01:07] The most general rule is that we use some to describe quantity in positive sentences.
Not negative sentences. Remember it's a non specific quantity, either because you don't want to
or don't need to specify, or because you don't know the specific number.

[00:01:22] I saw some birds in front of my house today. They were beautiful.

[00:01:26] Is the specific number important here? No. And did I count them? Probably not. So
we don't need to be specific in this sentence and it's positive, so we use some.

[00:01:36] There are some cookies on the table. Help yourself.

[00:01:39] Someone is inviting me to eat some cookies yum. Do they say how many? No,
because it's not important. If they were concerned, they might have said something like, help
yourself to one or two, but don't eat all of them!

[00:01:52] Negative sentences with any.

[00:01:54] As a general rule, any is used in negative sentences and for most questions. There are
some exceptions sometimes when this rule is slightly different, and we'll look at that in a little
bit. But here are some examples with any.

[00:02:09] I didn't see any birds in front of my house today. I was so disappointed.

[00:02:13] In the original example, I saw some. But in this example, I didn't see any. I saw a zero.
Nada. It's negative. So we don't use some, instead, we use any.

[00:02:24] There aren't any cookies on the table. Your brother ate them all.

[00:02:28] Remember this example with some? There were some cookies, but someone else
must have eaten all of them. Now I want some but there aren't any left. So there were some
before, but now there aren't any.

[00:02:41] As well in most questions. We use any instead of some. This doesn't matter if the
question is positive or negative, any is used much more in questions, but we will look at when
this rule changes in a little bit.

[00:02:54] Did you see any birds this morning?

[00:02:56] Yeah, I saw some in front of my house.

[00:02:58] Are there any cookies?

[00:02:59] Yep, there are some on the table.

[00:03:01] Using any in positive sentences.

[00:03:04] There is one situation where we can use any in positive sentences, and that is when
we mean something doesn't matter, especially when there is a choice.

[00:03:12] You can come over anytime tonight. It doesn't matter. See you later.

[00:03:16] So here it just doesn't matter. So I use any to show that there is less significance.

[00:03:21] I hate living in this tiny town. I just want to live anywhere but here.

[00:03:26] I'm expressing that it doesn't matter where I live, just not here.

[00:03:30] I'm so bored. Is there anything to do? I'd rather do anything than stay here at home.

[00:03:36] Does it matter what I want to do? No, apparently anything is better than this. Very
little significance to the activity or thing.

[00:03:44] Using some with questions.

[00:03:46] There are two situations where we use some in questions instead of any. First when
offering something to someone. Second when asking for something. This is especially common
at restaurants when ordering food and asking someone for something like help or money. Here
are examples.

[00:04:03] Hi. Are you ready to order or do you need some more time?

[00:04:06] I'm sorry. we need some more time.

[00:04:08] Would you like some coffee before you order?

[00:04:09] Sure. That sounds great.

[00:04:11] Are you busy later? Could you give me some help with moving this?

[00:04:14] Hi, what would you like to eat?

[00:04:16] Can I have some soup? Is that still available?

[00:04:19] Hi boss. Can I have some time off tomorrow? I need to go to the dentist.

[00:04:23] Some and any by themselves.

[00:04:25] We can also use some and any by themselves without a noun. So in this case some in
any are acting as pronouns. So usually the noun will be mentioned or said first and then some or
any will replace it.

[00:04:39] Of course. I've got some examples for you.

[00:04:41] Do you have enough money to pay? I have some if you need it.

[00:04:44] I don't know if there's any flour here. Do you have any? Can you bring some over?

[00:04:48] We went to the park to look at birds, but we didn't see any.