Some vs. any

Movies and music are two of the most powerful influences in the modern world. In fact, they have a major impact on people’s behavior; affecting how they act, what they believe, their aspirations, convictions, and even how they communicate with others. It is not the Media’s fault, however, that the way we now communicate has become arguably less refined. This is largely because of slang or ‘street language’ which has had an impact on correct grammar. The popularity of slang is contributing to the break down in proper English and this incorrect form of English is being passed on to the next generation. As a result of this, the value of proper sentence construction or even intelligible conversations may be lost. One example of this ‘breakdown’ is the incorrect usage of the word any instead of some and vice versa.

Are there any differences between “any” and “some”? Are there some similarities between the two? These are interesting questions and it is highly likely that you have used the two interchangeably at some point in the past. You probably didn’t even think they were different, but they are and you don’t have to be a linguist or a grammar expert to know the differences between the two and when to use any and when to use some. You just have to remember some key points.

Any and some are both determiners. These two words are almost synonymous with each other and are often used interchangeably to state an indefinite quantity or numbers of objects, events, or people only when it is informal. It is commonly used when the specific or exact number is unimportant or irrelevant or if the exact number is not known. Any and some are both used for affirmative and negative questions. For example, Will you eat any? Will you eat some? Won’t you eat any? Won’t you eat some? If you really look at it you’ll have a difficulty finding differences between the the two. But there are.

Any for instance, as a general rule, is used in negative answers and statements. For example, ‘Aren’t there any of those things left’? Or ‘I don’t need any of those’. As long as you keep the statement negative, then you should use any. It is also used when the statement is positive but has a negative meaning, an example of this is ‘My best friend never does any good acts.’

Some, on the other hand, is used separately with any only when the statement is affirmative or positive in nature and also when the expected answer of a question is positive Examples for this determiner are: ‘Tina had some free time on her planner today.’ Or ‘Please buy me some chocolates and wine on your way home.’ For an affirmative question, an example would be, ‘Can I have some of those artichokes, please?’

So as you can see, the difference and similarities of the determiners some and any are not that difficult to remember. Just use it in your writing as often as you can and you’ll be able to get it right. Remember that it may be fun to o occasionallyend grammars some time, but don’t ma you break the rules all the time it might become a habit which you get to used to.

Sharing is caring!