How to use any word in a sentence

An Introduction to Using «Any» and «Some» for ESL Beginners

Updated on January 21, 2020

‘Any’ and ‘some’ are used in positive and negative statements as well as in questions and can be used for both countable and uncountable (non countable) nouns. Although there are some exceptions, generally speaking, ‘any’ is used in questions and for negative statements while ‘some’ is used in positive statements.

• Is there any milk in the fridge?
• There aren’t any people in the park today.
• I have some friends in Chicago.

How to Use Some

Use ‘some’ in positive sentences. We use ‘some’ with both countable and uncountable nouns.

• I have some friends.
• She wants some ice cream.

We use ‘some’ in questions when offering or requesting something that is there.

• Would you like some bread? (offer)
• Could I have some water? (request)

Words with Some

Words such as ‘somebody’, ‘something’, ‘somewhere’ which include ‘some’ follow the same rules. Use ‘some’ words—somebody, someone, somewhere and something—in positive sentences.

• He lives somewhere near here.
• He needs something to eat.
• Peter wants to speak to someone at the store.

How to Use Any

Use ‘any’ in negative sentences or questions. We use any for both countable and uncountable nouns.

• Do you have any cheese?
• Did you eat any grapes after dinner?
• He doesn’t have any friends in Chicago.
• I don’t wont any trouble.

Words with Any

Words with ‘any’ such as: ‘anybody’, ‘anyone’, ‘anywhere’ and ‘anything’ follow the same rule and are used in negative sentences or questions.

• Do you know anything about that boy?
• Have you spoken to anyone about the problem?
• She doesn’t have anywhere to go.
• They didn’t say anything to me.

Sample Conversations with Some and Any

• Barbara: Is there any milk left?
• Katherine: Yes, there is some in the bottle on the table.
• Barbara: Would you like some milk?
• Katherine: No, thank you. I don’t think I’ll drink any tonight. Could I have some water, please?
• Barbara: Sure. There is some in the fridge.

In this example, Barbara asks ‘Is there any milk left?’ using ‘any’ because she doesn’t know if there is milk or not. Katherine responds with ‘some milk’ because there is milk in the house. In other words, ‘some’ indicates that there is milk. The questions ‘would you like some’ and ‘could I have some’ refers to something that exists that is offered or requested.

• Barbara: Do you know anybody who comes from China?
• Katherine: Yes, I think there is someone who is Chinese in my English class.
• Barbara: Great, could you ask him some questions for me?
• Katherine: No problem. Is there anything special you want me to ask?
• Barbara: No, I don’t have anything in particular in mind. Maybe you could ask him some questions about life in China. Is that OK?
• Katherine: Sure.

The same rules apply in this conversation, but are used for words made using ‘some’ or ‘any’. The question ‘Do you know anybody’ is used because Barbara doesn’t know if Katherine knows a person from China. Katherine then uses ‘someone’ to refer to a person she knows. The negative form of ‘anything’ is used in the sentence ‘I don’t have anything’ because it is in the negative.

Quiz

Fill in the gaps in the sentences below with ‘some’ or ‘any’, or some or any words (somewhere, anybody, etc.)

1. Would you like _______ to eat?

2. I have _______ money in my wallet.

3. Is there _______ juice in the fridge?

4. He can’t think of _______ to do.

5. I’d like to go _______ hot for my vacation.

6. Is there _______ who plays tennis in your class?

7. I’m afraid I don’t have ______ answers to life’s problems.

8. Could I have _______ water?

An Introduction to Using «Any» and «Some» for ESL Beginners

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In this post, you’re going to learn how to avoid common mistakes when using ‘any’ in English. You’ll also learn the difference between ‘some’ and ‘any’.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “SOME” AND “ANY”

Common Mistakes with ANY in English

I often hear English students make this mistake:

“Do you have any pets?”

“No, any.”

Using ‘any’ here is incorrect because ‘any’ and words that begin with ‘any’ (anyone, anybody, anywhere, etc.) are not negative. 

So we say,

Here are some other examples,

“She has no patience.”

“Nobody likes it here.”

“I have nothing to say.”

“None of my friends are coming.”

Another common mistake in English is using ‘any’ instead of ‘a’ or ‘an’. 

So we say,

Using ‘any’ here is incorrect because we normally use a plural noun (or an uncountable noun) after ‘any’. 

For example, if I’m expecting an important letter, I can say:

“Are there any letters for me?”

Or, 

There are some exceptions to this rule, and we’ll discuss those below.

How to Use ANY in English

We use ‘any’ in negative sentences (with doesn’t, don’t, didn’t, etc.) and with words that have a negative meaning, such as ‘never’, ‘without’, ‘refuse’, etc. So we can say,

“He never says anything.”

“We didn’t stop anywhere.”

“They did it without any difficulty.”

“She refused to give him any attention.”

We also use ‘any’ in most questions, and often with ‘if’. For example,

“Did anyone understand this?”

“Do you know any good bars?”

“Have you seen any good movies lately?”

“If they need any help, tell them to call me.”

How to Use SOME in English

We generally use ‘some’ and words that start with ‘some’ (someone, somebody, etc.) in affirmative sentences. So we can say,

“There is someone at the door.”

“He has some interesting stories.”

We use ‘some’ when we don’t care about the quantity or the amount. For example,

“There’s some spaghetti sauce on your face.” 

We also use ‘some’ when something or someone is unknown or unfamiliar. So we can say,

“Some guy called for you while you were gone. Here’s his number.”

“Some lady was asking about you. I told her to come back in an hour.”

As I mentioned earlier, we use ‘any’ in most questions. But there are some exceptions. For instance, when we make offers or requests, we use ‘some’. So, if you’re with friends and you’d like to offer them drinks, you can say,

“Would you like some wine?”

“Would you like something to drink?”

Similarly, if you’re making a request, you can say,

“Can I have some water?”

“Could you lend me some money?”

The Main Difference Between SOME and ANY

As a general rule, we use ‘some’ for affirmative sentences, and ‘any’ for questions or negative sentences.

Usually, both ‘some’ and ‘any’ can only be used with countable plural nouns or uncountable nouns. For example,

“I have some questions.”

“I don’t have any questions.”

“Do you have any questions?”

Or,

“I have some water.“

“I don’t have any water.“

“Do you have any water?“

But there are some exceptions.

We can use ‘any’ in affirmative sentences when there’s a sense of no limitation. For example,

“Anyone who works here can help you.”

This means that it doesn’t matter who you ask, because everyone who works here can help you.

Here are other examples,

“He can eat anything and not gain weight.”

“These are great ideas for anyone who works from home.”

Any Ideas or Any Idea?

A few of my students were confused about the difference between ‘any ideas’ and ‘any idea’. So let’s look at the difference between them. 

‘Any idea’ and ‘any ideas’ are used in different contexts. Generally, we use ‘any ideas’ when we’re looking for suggestions. For example,

“How can we get more customers? Do you have any ideas?”

“Where should we go for our vacation next year? Any ideas?”

But we use ‘Do you have any idea…?’ differently.

We use ‘any idea’ when we’re asking for a specific answer to a problem we have. For example, 

“Do you have any idea why he’s so tired?”

“Who finished the wine? Do you have any idea?”

In spoken English, we often omit the ‘do you’. So we can say,

“Who made this mess? Any idea?”

We also use ‘any idea’ in rhetorical questions or as emphasis in emotional questions. Here, it’s another way to say, ‘do you understand…’. For example,

“Do you have any idea how difficult this is for me?”

“You didn’t come home last night! Do you have any idea how worried we were?”

I hope this clears up any confusion with ‘some’ and ‘any’! Share this article with a friend who struggles with this. And if you have any questions, let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

About the Writer

Sama is the founder of In English With Love and an online English educator from Canada. Her mission is to make quality English learning materials accessible to English learners and teachers everywhere.

Quick intro

Some, any, much, many, few and little are all words that come before nouns to help explain them. Some and any are both “determiners” – they tell us whether the noun phrase is general or specific. Some and any are both “general determiners”, which means they refer to an indefinite or unknown quantity of something.

Much, many, few and little are all “quantifiers”. Quantifiers are used to give information about quantity (the number of something). Both much and many suggest a large quantity of something, whilst little and few mean: not as much, or not as many. However, if you use a little or a few this means: a small amount!

But how do we know when to use each word? Broadly speaking, the rules for using these terms are based on whether the noun we are referring to is countable, uncountable, plural vs. singular OR whether they appear in positive or negative sentences or questions. Be careful because each set of words has its own particular rules and exceptions! Let’s take a closer look…

The words some and any are used when the exact number or amount of something is not known, or when it’s not important. Some and any are both used to refer to an indefinite quantity or number.

For example:

There are some birds in our garden.
(We don’t know exactly how many birds are in the garden or it doesn’t matter how many birds there are exactly)

As opposed to:

There are three birds in our garden.
(The number of birds is important and exact)

Some and any are known as “general determiners”. They are used to modify nouns, specifically to tell us that the noun phrase is general (rather than specific).  They can be used with:

1. Countable or uncountable nouns:
   We don’t have any time to get popcorn before the film starts.(Time is uncountable)
   We still have some apples on the tree. (Apples are countable)
2. Singular or plural nouns:
   We don’t have any chicken left for dinner. (Chicken is singular)
   It’s such nice weather! Let’s invite some friends round for a BBQ. (Friends is plural)

When do I use someand when do I use any?

Although some and any are both used to describe an indefinite number, they are used in different ways. So how do we use them correctly?

In general, some is used in positive sentences (that don’t contain the word ‘not’):

I would love to try some of that food! It looks delicious!
I have bought some strawberries and cream to have for dessert.
Let’s invite some friends round and have a party tonight!
Some people think it’s better to eat healthily than to exercise a lot.

Looking at related words can help you to understand the difference in meaning between ‘some’ and ‘any’. Common words that include ‘some’ are: someone, something, somewhere and somebody. These are all used in positive sentences. In contrast, these popular words with ‘any’ are used in negative sentences and questions: anything, anywhere, anyone and anybody.

Any is used in negative sentences (that contain the word ‘not’):

We don’t have any space left in the car so we won’t be able to give you a lift.
I don’t need any help with my homework because I can do it on my own.
There isn’t any milk in the fridge so we’ll have to have black coffee.
I’m not hungry at the moment so I don’t want anything to eat.

And in questions:

Have you got any idea how long the film lasts?
Do you have any brothers or sisters?
It would be great to season these potatoes. Is there any salt and pepper?
Do you have any plans for the summer?

A common, informal way of asking a question in spoken English is to say: “any chance…”, rather than saying “Please could I…”. For example, “Any chance I could borrow a fiver?” means: “Could I borrow five pounds?”. Remember you would only use this with your friends, family or anyone else you know well! It is an informal expression.

Exceptions

There are some exceptions to these rules. We can use some in questions when offering something or making requests:

Would you like some milk and sugar in your tea?
Can I get you something to drink while you wait?
Shall we invite some friends round?
I left my wallet at home; can I borrow some money for lunch?

We use any in positive sentences when we mean “it doesn’t matter which…”:

There’s no seating plan so you can sit anywhere you like.
You can play any song by that band.  I love them all!
Choose any pair of shoes you want. They’re all the same price.
I don’t mind which pair of shoes you buy me. I’ll take any of them!

Some	Any	Examples
Refer to an unknown number or quantity	Refer to an unknown number or quantity	There are some birds in your garden
Used with uncountable and countable nouns	Used with uncountable and countable nouns	We don’t have any time to get popcorn before the film starts(time is uncountable) We still have some apples on the tree(apples are countable)
Used with singular and plural nouns	Used with singular and plural nouns	We don’t have any chicken left for dinner(chicken is singular) It’s such nice weather; let’s invite some friends round for a BBQ (friends is plural)
Used in positive sentences		I would love to try some of that food, it looks delicious!
	Used in negative sentences	I don’t need any help with my homework; I can do it on my own.
	Used in questions	Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Used in questions that are offering/making requests		Can I get you something to drink whilst you wait?
	Used in positive sentences to mean “it doesn’t matter which”	There’s no seating plan, you can sit anywhere you like.

Much vs. many

Much and many are known as “quantifiers”. They are used to talk about quantities, amounts or degrees (along with ‘a lot of’ and ‘lots of’) and suggest a large quantity of something.

When do I use much and when do I use many?

Many is used with plural, countable nouns (e.g. dogs, dollars, tables, children). Much is used with singular, uncountable nouns (e.g. happiness, music, water, time):

There aren’t many doctors in the hospital today. (doctors are countable)
Many Brits choose to retire in Spain. (Brits/British people are countable)
There isn’t much light in this room so let’s open the curtains. (light is uncountable)
Too much money was spent on the Royal Wedding. (money is uncountable)

Remember equipment, luggage and information are all uncountable nouns and therefore will always use much. For example, ‘How much equipment does your studio have?’, ‘You have too much luggage to board the plane!’, ‘There isn’t much information on your CV. Please make it more detailed…’.

We usually use much and many with questions and negative statements:

 How many apples do you want?
How much time does it take to get to your house from here?
I don’t think many people agree with her views on marriage.
There wasn’t much noise coming from the house, even though there was a party going on.

We sometimes us much and many in positive statements when:

1. They are used with so, asor too:

I think he has too many tattoos! I don’t like them.
Sarah has so much money at the moment; she must be earning a lot!
John makes as much money as Sarah. 

• Too is often used before much and many to mean: ‘more than was needed’. For example, ‘I bought too much fruit at the market. We’ll never eat it all before it goes off!’ and ‘There are too many people in the waiting room.’.
• We use ‘so’ rather than ‘very’ before much and many in positive statements to emphasise a large quantity of something. So you would say: ‘We have so much work to do today!’ and not ‘We have very much work to do today!’.
• ‘As much as’ or ‘as many as’ are used to make a comparison and show that something is the same as or equal to something else. For example, ‘There are as many at this meeting as there were at the previous one.’.

1. They can be used in more formal written texts:

There has been much debate about the government’s new policy on education.
There were many articles about the effects of the virus on the local population.
There have been many allegations against him from members of his team.
We believe there is still much work to be done in the area of public health.

Generally, it is more common to use lots of/a lot ofin positive statements. This is more informal:

The shop had a sale on so I spent lots of money!
We have a lot of time so there’s no need to rush.
Anna has lots of friends so she’s always busy.
I think a lot of music sounds the same these days.

If much or many are used before articles (a/an, the), demonstratives (this, that), possessives (my, your) or pronouns (him, them), they are followed by ‘of’:

How much of this book have you read?
Not many of the students come from privileged backgrounds?
I couldn’t ride a bike for much of my childhood.
How many of them are under the age of 30?

In spoken English, certain words are often omitted or left out. For example, we say ‘this much’or ‘that much’and use a hand gesture to indicate the amount or size as in: ‘I’ll have this much cake.’(use fingers to show the amount).

It is also common to miss out the noun when it is obvious what is being discussed. For example, – ‘Could I have some apples, please?’ – ‘Sure! How many would you like?’ (no need to repeat the word ‘apples’).

Much	Many	Examples
	Used with plural, countable nouns	There aren’t many doctors in the hospital today. (doctors are countable) Too many people drop litter in the street. (people are countable)
Used with singular, uncountable nouns		There isn’t much light in this room so let’s open the curtains. (light is uncountable) Too much money was spent on the Royal Wedding. (money is uncountable)
Most commonly used with questions and negative statements	Most commonly used with questions and negative statements	How many apples do you want? How much time does it take to get to your house form here? I don’t think many people agree with her views on marriage. There wasn’t much noise coming from the house, even though there was a party going on.
Occasionally used with positive statements when: a) used with so, as or too b) more formal, written texts Lots of/a lot ofis more common	Occasionally used with positive statements when: a) used with so, as or too b) more formal, written texts Lots of/a lot ofis more common	He has too many tattoos. Sarah has so much money at the moment; she must be earning a lot! John earns as much money as Sarah. There have been many allegations against him from members of his team. We believe there is still much work to be done in the area of public health.
If used before articles, demonstratives, possessives or pronouns, it is followed by ‘of’	If used before articles, demonstratives, possessives or pronouns, it is followed by ‘of’	How much of this book have you read? Not many of the students come from privileged backgrounds. I couldn’t ride a bike for much of my childhood. How many of them are under the age of 30?

 

Few vs. little

Little and few are “quantifiers”. When theyare used on their own they have a negative meaning to suggest ‘not as much or not as many as might be expected’.

But be careful! When little and few are used with an article – a little or a few– both words mean ‘some’ and have a positive meaning.

When do I use fewand when do I use little?

Little is used with singular, uncountable nouns and few is used with plural, countable nouns to mean ‘not as much’ or ‘not as many’. For example:

The play made little sense to me, but I’m glad you enjoyed it. (sense is uncountable) = the play didn’t make much sense.
She didn’t want to go, but she had little choice. (choice is uncountable) = she didn’t have much choice.
There are few people that I think would be qualified for the job. (people is countable) = there aren’t many people qualified for the job.
There are few tourists at this time of year so the beaches are nice and quiet. (tourists is countable) = there aren’t many tourists. 

A little is used with singular, uncountable nouns and a few is used with plural, countable nouns to mean ‘some’:

We have a little time before the play starts so why don’t we get a drink?
We have a little space in our car if you want a lift.
There are a few good candidates that have applied so I’m sure we’ll find someone for the job.
We stayed in Spain a few days before going on to France. 

‘A little’ (more formal) is similar to ‘a bit’ (less formal). Both expressions mean the same thing and are common in spoken English. For example, ‘We have a bit of time before the play starts.’, ‘Can I have a little more cake, please?’, ‘We have a bit of beer left over from the party.’. You can also combine the two and say ‘a little bit’, as in: ‘I’m a little bit confused about…’.

As well as having negative meanings, few and little on their own are also quite formal and are generally not used very much in everyday spoken English. It is more common to instead use a negative sentence with ‘many’ or ‘much’. For example:

The play made little sense to me, but I’m glad you enjoyed it. = The play didn’t make much sense to me.
She didn’t want to go, but she had little choice. = She didn’t have much choice.
There are few people that I think would be qualified for the job. = There aren’t many people.
There are few tourists at this time of year so the beaches are nice and quiet. = There aren’t many tourists. 

Compare these different meanings:

It’s snowing outside and I have few warm layers on so I’m really cold!
It’s snowing outside but I have a few warm layers on so I’m ok.

I have few friends in the city, so it can be quite lonely.
I have a few friends in the city, so I’m settling in well. 

Few	A few	Little	A little	Examples
		Used with singular, uncountable nouns to mean ‘not as much’		The play made little sense to me, but I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Used with plural, countable nouns to mean ‘not as many’				There are few tourists at this time of year so the beaches are nice and quiet.
			Used with singular, uncountable nouns to mean ‘some’	We have a little time before the play starts so why don’t we get a drink?
	Used with plural, countable nouns to mean ‘some’			We stayed in Spain a few days before going on to France.

Exercises: Some / any, much / many, few / little

A. Fill in the gaps with either some or any:

1. There isn’t (_______) time to finish your lunch. We need to leave now!
2. We have _______ham sandwiches in the fridge if you’re hungry.
3. Shall we bake _______ cupcakes for the party?
4. Do you have _______ family in Italy?
5. I won’t need to do _______more revision after my exams.
6. There aren’t _______ shopping centres near my house.
7. Is there _______news on the royal couple’s wedding plans yet?
8. We finally have _______ news about the royal wedding!
9. Would you like _______ more soup, or are you full?
10. Pick _______ birthday card you like. I think they’re all nice.

B. Choose the correct word to complete the sentences below:

1. How much/many/many of the guests ordered lunch?
2. She has too much/many/much of ideas and can’t focus on one thing at a time!
3. We don’t have much of/much/many sunshine at this time of year.
4. How many/much/much of people live in your block of flats?
5. How many/much/much of the assignment have you completed so far?
6. How many/many of/much money will I need for 2 days in London?
7. There has been many/much/much of debate about the new regulations.
8. Too many/much/much of people are driving in London and the traffic is a nightmare.
9. There isn’t much of/many/much time before our flight so let’s go straight to the gate.
10. My son doesn’t have many/much/much of friends at school.

C. Fill in the gaps with either few, little, a few or a little:

1. There’s _______ chance of Mary coming to the wedding. She’s in Australia!
2. We have _______ options for our next holiday and they all look good.
3. _______ people visit Siberia in the winter because  it’s too cold.
4. You have _______ time before the next class if you want to get a drink.
5. Let’s spend _______ days reviewing the proposal as I don’t want to rush it.
6. There’s _______ point in repeating yourself because she never listens!
7. I have very _______ colleagues that I would trust in a crisis.
8. _______ is known about the singer’s early life.
9. Your dessert was delicious! Can I have _______ more, please?
10. The staff training course takes _______ days to complete.

Check your answers!

A = any, some, some, any, any, any, any, some, some, any
B = many of, many, much, many, much of, much, much, many, much, many
C = little, a few, few, a little, a few, little, few, little, a little, a few

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So, we use some with questions that are offers or requests.

Examples:

Offer Would you like some milk?

Request Can you buy me some milk?

And we use any in questions when we don’t know if something exists.

Example:

Do you have any pizza?

Exceptions to the rules

We can sometimes use any in positive sentences

When it is not important which one

Pass me any drink.

We can go to any game you like.

When the sentence has a negative idea

We never get any chocolate 

We hardly ever buy anything nice.

He stayed there without any clean clothes.

When we use if

Let me know if you need anything

I am sorry for anything he has done wrong.

Anything/Something, Anytime/Sometime, Somebody/ Anybody

Something(unspecified thing)

I want something but I don’t know what.

Anything 

I didn’t buy anything.

Sometime(unspecified time)

Let’s meet sometime on Friday.

Anytime

Anytime on Friday is fine.(it doesn’t matter)

Someone (unspecified person)

Someone took my pen.

Anyone

Does anyone have a car I can borrow?

All of these words follow the same rules as any and some. Notice how any is used with time. Anytime= a time that doesn’t matter.

Look at this example

Someone means an unspecified person but anyone adds more meaning. Anyone is whatever person and he is looking for help.

Read more about someone vs anyone here.

‘I bought some bread’ or ‘I bought any bread’?

Some

Countable and uncountable

Some is used with both countable and uncountable nouns:

Countable Nouns — ‘Some people in my school like Jazz.’
Uncountable Nouns — ‘There was some snow here last winter.’

Positive sentences

Some is used in positive sentences:

‘I have some friends.’
‘We bought some coffee.’

Offering

We use some in questions when we expect the answer to be ‘yes’ or when we are offering something, otherwise, we use any:

‘Would you like some milk?

Requests

Some is also used in questions when we are making a request:

‘Can I borrow some money?’

Any

Negative sentences

Any is used in negative sentences:

‘I don’t have any friends.’
‘There isn’t any bread left.’

Questions

Any is used in questions:

‘Do you have any money?’
‘Is there any sugar?’

Link: How to use ‘By’

• We will have ___ news soon.
  
• Would you like ___ breakfast?
  
• There is not ___ rain in summer.
  
• Can I have ___ coffee?
  
• I think I will have ___ toast.
  
• Do you have ___ pets?
  
• She had ___ good ideas.
  
• He does not have ___ patience.