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Wangqh2696122 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

An importanr person: somebody or anybody?

Which of the following is correct?

If you want to be anybody, you must work hard.



If you want to be somebody, you must work hard.
  

Top answer

wangqh2696122 Which of the following is correct? If you want to be anybody , you must work hard. If you want to be somebody , you must work hard.

— CalifJim

  • wangqh2696122 Which of the following is correct?
  • If you want to be anybody , you must work hard.
  • If you want to be somebody , you must work hard.
  • I would say that both are possible grammatically, but somebody is the usual choice for the formula.
  • somebody here means 'an important person', 'somebody important', 'somebody of substance', 'a worthy person', 'a successful person'.
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13 Answers
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wangqh2696122Which of the following is correct?

If you want to be anybody, you must work hard.



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Anybody- You can be anybody (famous/ important/ influential) you want to if you set you mind to it.

Somebody- If you want to be somebody (important), you must work hard.
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Thank you very much.

But as far as I know, "anybody" also means 'an important person' . So What's the difference?
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CJ,

Is somebody restricted to affirmative sentences only?
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wangqh2696122But as far as I know, "anybody" also means 'an important person'
Not in the US, ****.

Bill Gate is that somebody everyone want to be.

But not anybody can achieve what he has accomplished in a financial sense.

As a cliche, we can of course say "anybody can be somebody". .

Any- has an
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AnonymousIs somebody restricted to affirmative sentences only?
No. There are times when somebody is just the right word in a negative sentence.

Don't you want somebody to help you?
That's not somebody I would like to associate with.
Somebody didn't like the dessert. Half of it was left on the plate.

CJ
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Happy with your answer. Thanks again for your timely reply.

By the way, can you supply some examples with "somebody(meaning an important person)" used a conditional clause, or rather, if- clause?
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Anonymouscan you supply some examples with "somebody(meaning an important person)" used a conditional clause, or rather, if- clause?
Hmm. That's not easy to do. The following is just barely possible in the right context, but not completely idiomatic.

I'd agree to arrange a meeting with him if he were somebody.

Maybe someone else can
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If you lost your luggage on a flight and you filed a complaint at the arrival counter after the plan had landed. The ariline clerk may tell you : Somebody/ someone from the main office will contact you in the morning. If you think that somebody is important as someone who can resolve your luggage problem.
CalifJim"somebody(meaning an important person)"
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Is the following sentence idiomatic?

If everybody is somebody, then anybody is nobody.
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