Someone vs. Anyone

Question

Hi,I was told that "someone" is for positive statements and "anyone" for negative statements.So is this sentence: "I had never seen someone who could do this.", grammatically correct?I think we should use "anyone" here, but I saw some people using "someone" too thus I am a littleconfused.Thanks.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hi, I was told that "someone" is for positive statements and "anyone" for negative statements. So is this sentence: "I ... people using "someone" too thus I am a little confused.In the sentence you provide, either "someone" or "anyone" will serve.[/nq]
However:
"Anyone can play" does not mean the same thing as "Someone can play". I don't think you can apply the "rule" in all situations. I wish I could explain more clearly the many cases in which "Anyone" and "Someone"
can be interchanged.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Hi, I was told that "someone" is for positive statements ... people using "someone" too thus I am a little confused.[/nq]
[nq:1]In the sentence you provide, either "someone" or "anyone" will serve. However: "Anyone can play" does not mean the same ... all situations. I wish I could explain more clearly the many cases in which "Anyone" and "Someone" can be interchanged.[/nq]
The positive/negative rule is useful as a rough guide, but, as you say, it is far from being reliable, and the "negative" category should include questions (whether positive or negative). "Is anyone there?" is more likely than "is someone there?".
In cases where "anyone" is more usual but "someone" is possible, the difference seems to be that "anyone" makes no assumptions about the number or identities of the people, whereas "someone" would usually refer to a single person, often one whose identity is known or easily guessable.

athel

Someone vs. Anyone

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