some and any

Question

what is the difference of some and any?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Read this instruction sheet which has many examples:
http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-lesson-some-any.php#.VFuL7PnF-Tk

Tara668 · Answer

It depends on context.

If I say "I would like to go to some of the restaurants here while I am in town" I am only saying that I want to go out to eat. Maybe we will talk about what kind of food we like and decide which restaurants to try.

If I say "I would like to go to any of the restaurants here..." I am specifically saying that if you pick a restaurant, I would go. It doesn't matter what kind of food, I will not say no. Any (here) means that each one would be ok.

When I said "some" that just means there are restaurants where I think I will want to eat, while there could be others where I don' t want to eat. Whereas the word "any" is more like a promise that whatever you choose will be fine.

Ok, another example:

If I say "Do you have any milk?" vs "Do you have some milk?" those two are both approximately the same question, but I feel that "any" creates a slight suggestion that I am thinking "maybe there is no milk." That is, "any" as opposed to "not any"/none.

If we consider each of these two words when combined with another, we have pairs like anywhere/somewhere. Somewhere is an undetermined place, but that's all I can say about it. Anywhere also refers to a place, but there are no restrictions on where that place is. For example,

"I've lost my keys. They're somewhere in my room." So they are in the room, but I would assume they've fallen behind my bed, or they're in my jacket pocket, some place you would normally expect them to be. But if I say "My grandmother is losing her mind. Now she's lost her keys. They could be anywhere." I mean that we should look in every possibly place, no matter how crazy. Maybe she went into the refrigerator to get some milk, and she absentmindedly set her keys down on the shelf inside.

(I had already typed up my response when I saw the link provided.)

Ali41m · Answer

it's true ? what is the difference between some and any?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

ali41mwhat is the difference between some and any?

Go follow the link that I posted above.

some and any

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