The English-Learning and Languages Review Ć HOMEPAGE
some
and any
(and
their compounds)
Amorey
Gethin
Contents
Frequent grammarians' mistakes
An example of how the distinction
between some and any is not always so obvious
Further examples of the
interdependence of meanings
At the end of the first decade of the
twenty-first century the field of language studies is still dominated by the
obsession with syntax. This obsession continues to lead to much error in
linguistic analysis. Where English is concerned, there is a good example in the
failure of recognised authorities to provide a correct explanation of how some and any are used. I have been unable to find any book on the
English-teaching market which does not repeat the old errors.
The distinction between some and any
is purely one of meaning. It has nothing to do with grammatical forms or any
sort of grammatical 'rule'. As with the use of any other vocabulary, if two or
more meanings in a sentence are incompatible, we say it's 'wrong'. Just as we
don't say
1 *I
will go yesterday
we don't
say
2
*There are any books over there.
The
principle is exactly the same in the two cases. However, the conflict of
meanings between will and yesterday is more obvious than it is
between there are and any books. So where the use of some and
any is concerned, grammarians have failed to see that meaning alone is
involved. Instead they have tied themselves and the rest of us up in knots
searching for grammatical and rule-bound explanations.
In fact, contrary to
what many grammarians seem to believe, some and any have completely different meanings. The
difference is unambiguous and crucial. This does not mean, though, that
they can never be used as alternatives to each other, in the same way as, for
example, except (for) and
apart from. We can say both
3 There are no cats here apart from mine
and
4 There are no cats here except mine.
But while we can say
5 There are twenty-six cats here apart
from mine
we do
not say
6 *There are twenty-six cats here except
mine.
There
is no conflict of meaning between except and the rest of the sentence in
4, but there is in 6. It is important to understand that there is always a
difference in meaning between apart from and except, whatever the
context. But in sentences 3 and 4 it makes no practical difference,
though it may make a slight difference in feeling.
This principle applies
to all words and phrases. All words and phrases have their unique meaning,
different from that of all other words and phrases. In some contexts these
differences have practical importance. In some contexts they do not. Some and
any are an excellent example of this. We can say
7 Have you got some water?
or
8 Have you got any water?
There is no practical
difference in meaning between the two sentences. [note 1] But there is clearly
a great deal of difference in meaning between
9 I don’t like some operas [there
are certain operas I don’t like]
and
10 I don’t like any operas. [there are no operas I like]
And finally, an example of a pair of sentences where the utterly different
meaning of the two words makes one sentence perfectly normal and the other
‘unacceptable’. We can say
11 Somebody's not signed
but
12 *Anybody's not signed
is nonsense. The meaning of anybody
is incompatible with the meaning of (ha)s
not signed (but compatible with can
sign).
What are the
meanings of some and any? It is impossible to describe properly the meaning
of a word with other words. But for practical purposes I suggest the following:
Any: its essence is the idea of whatever, whichever you like to think of;
it is an emphatic word, whether in positive or negative clauses.
Some is
essentially limited. Some is a certain
unspecified amount of, a certain unspecified portion or proportion of, a
certain unspecified number of, an unspecified thing or person. One could
perhaps also say that some, something, somebody etc. are in a sense
the opposite of no (adjective), nothing, nobody etc.
These are necessarily vague and inaccurate
descriptions. Best of all, if you are a teacher, is if you can demonstrate the
meanings to learners physically. With a bit of clownery and ham acting and some
good examples, these descriptions can in fact work quite well. I have had much
exhibitionist fun in the classroom enacting some and any.
Actually, perhaps the simplest way for
non-English-speakers to learn how to use some
and any is by translation in
varying contexts into their native language. This, though, is not to advocate
the translation method of language-learning. Far from it. See Gethin &
Gunnemark 1996. The Art and Science of
Learning Languages, pp.105-06, where I give advice on how to use bilingual
dictionaries.
Like practically
all words, some and any can be stressed or unstressed without
change in their basic meaning. Some is pronounced /səm/ when unstressed,
and /sʌm/ when
stressed. But some is normally
pronounced /sʌm/ in the phrase some of,
whether stressed or unstressed.
Stress depends on
the context and the meaning one wants to convey. For instance, in the sentence
13 We’ve got some bread but not enough for
three people
the
position of the stress depends on the utterance (or context) to which it is a
response. If this was a question such as
Do we have anything to eat?
the stress
will be on bread, and some would be unstressed:
We’ve got some /səm/ bread, but not enough for
three people.
But if the question was
Have you got any bread?
the stress will be on some:
We’ve got some /sʌm/ bread, but not enough for three people.
Similarly:
14 “Next we’ll need some sugar.”
“I don’t think we need any sugar.” “No, we’ll need some sugar – not much, but some.”
15 “When shall I come?” “Any time will suit me fine.”
16 “Who can I ask for advice?” “Any doctor should be able to help you.”
17 Anybody could have told you that.
18 How like a man! Any woman would have understood your feelings immediately.
(In all
the examples that follow in this article, some
and any, and their compounds, are
only stressed if they appear in bold;
otherwise they are unstressed.)
Frequent grammarians’ mistakes
Grammarians not only tend to make the
fundamental mistake of converting meanings into grammatical categories, in the
belief that these categories, rather than meanings, are the key to
understanding how languages work. They often confuse the meaning of the part
with the meaning of the whole. They may declare, for instance, that some is ‘affirmative’, and any ‘non-affirmative’.
They fail to see that it is the combination of the basic separate meanings of some
or any with other separate meanings which produce, sometimes, whole
sentences that can be classified in this way. Or, to put it another way,
‘affirmative’ and ‘non-affirmative’ and all the other analyses they make in
connection with some and any, are simply some
of the possible results, in 'complete'
meanings, of the use of and combination of various separate meanings. The
result is very often, for instance, that one cannot use some with a
negative, simply because the basic meaning of some will not fit that
particular negative. Very often, however, some not only fits a
particular negative – it is what one has
to use with that negative to express one's meaning. We have already seen an
example of this in sentence 11. But it is quite irrelevant and without interest
(and very confusing) to classify those resulting meanings.
This error is linked to another common error.
This is the failure to recognise that situations in life do not make laws of
language. For example, it may be true that any
is more commonly used in negative sentences. But if so, that is only because any + negative situations are more
common in life. [note 2]
Grammarians also tend – at least in the case
of some and any - to select examples that appear to confirm their analyses, and
fail to imagine any of the many that invalidate them. They say, for instance,
that *I don’t have some questions,
and *I ate any of the pies, and *I have any ideas are unacceptable
sentences; they seem unable to think of grammatically similar examples, such as
I don’t like some modern operas, or I could have eaten any of the pies, or I welcome any ideas, which are perfectly
acceptable sentences.
Both some and any (and
their compounds), stressed or unstressed, can be used in any sort of sentence,
so long as it makes sense.
In the pairs of examples below, the some sentences have completely different meanings from the any sentences, whatever the stress
patterns.
19 I
enjoy some operas. [I enjoy
certain operas, but not others.]
20 I
enjoy any opera. [I enjoy
whichever opera I go to.]
21 I
don’t like some operas. [I like
operas, but there are certain operas that I don’t like.]
22 I
don’t like any operas. [There
are no operas that I like.]
23 Do
you like some operas? [Do you
like at least certain operas, even if you don’t like all operas?]
24 Do
you like any operas? [Are there
no operas at all that you like, even if you don’t normally like operas?]
25 I’m
prepared to go to some operas,
but not many. [I’m prepared to go to a certain limited number of operas.]
26 I’m prepared to go to any reasonably well-sung opera. [I’m prepared to go to
whichever opera you like to think of, so long as it’s well sung.]
27 Some operas can be dreadfully boring. [A certain limited number of
operas can be dreadfully boring, but not all.]
28 Any opera is a dreadfully boring experience for me. [Whichever opera
you like to think of is a dreadfully boring experience for me.]
29 The doctor hasn’t seen someone. [The doctor has probably seen some patients, but
there is a certain person she/he has not seen, perhaps still sitting forlornly
in the waiting room.]
30 The doctor hasn’t seen anyone. [The doctor has seen no patients at all.]
[After listening to
a talk in a foreign language]
31 I didn't understand some of the
jokes. [There were jokes I understood, but also certain other jokes I did
not understand.
32 I didn't understand any of the
jokes. [There were absolutely no jokes whatever that I understood.]
33 I
didn’t understand some of the jokes. [I
understood almost everything, except for a certain number of the jokes.]
34 I
didn’t understand any of the jokes. [I
understood almost everything except for the jokes. I understood none of those.]
35 Don’t
you like some operas? [Aren’t
there a certain limited number of operas you like, even if you don’t like most
operas?]
36 Don’t
you like any operas? [Are there
no operas at all that you like, even if you don’t normally like them?]
37 Don’t you like some operas? [In contrast to the things you don’t like, aren’t there
a certain limited number of operas
you like?]
38 Don’t
you like any operas? [In
contrast to the things you don’t like, are there no operas that you like?]
39 I’ve
never been to the theatre, but I’ve been to some operas. [In contrast
to the theatre, I’ve been to a certain number of operas.]
40 I‘m
not very keen on the theatre, but I’d go to any opera. [In contrast to the theatre, I’d go to no matter which
opera.]
41 Some operas will be staged in the city next
season. [There will be a certain number of operas staged in the city next
season.]
42 Any operas will be paid for by the
city. [If there are operas, whichever they are, they will be paid for by
the city.]
43 When you get there, somebody
will tell you what to do. [When you get there, there is bound to be at
least one person who can tell you what to do.] Alternatively, the somebody might be unstressed.
44 When you get there, somebody will tell you what to do.
This would suggest
that it has been specially arranged that a certain unnamed person will tell you
what to do.
45 When you get there, anybody
will tell you what to do. [A person there, whoever you ask and whoever
they are, and it doesn't matter who they are, will tell you what to do –
indeed, every person there will be able to tell you.]
46 "What's the matter?"
"They didn't have some CD’s they'd promised to get me."
[They
failed to obtain a particular batch of CD’s they’d promised me.]
47 I'm fed up with them. They never
have any CD’s they promise me. [They promise to obtain
CD’s for me, but they never do – they have not obtained a single one for me.]
48 You think macaroni grows on
trees, and Star Wars is a dispute among actors?! Do you know anything?! (Is there nothing at
all you know?)
49 "Do you know
something?" "No - what?" "I love you." [There is a certain thing that is true. Do you
know it?] (I suspect lovers who frequently asked each other if they knew anything
might not remain lovers for long.)
50 We were prepared for some emergencies, but only minor ones.
[We were prepared for only a certain limited sort of emergencies.]
51 We
were well organised, and always prepared for any emergencies. [We were always prepared for no matter what
emergencies.]
Some further examples that demonstrate that some and its compounds are not restricted to ‘affirmative’
sentences, and any and its compounds
are not restricted to ‘non-affirmative’ sentences
52 The pears are all ripe, but some apples aren’t ready yet.
53 I
haven’t got all of the bird series
stamps, and I haven’t got some of the insect
ones either.
[At a fairground]
54 Some children are not being allowed in.
Please see to it that they can get in.
[Later]
55 Some children are still not being allowed in.
56 The
inspectors haven’t checked some of the farms
in
57 Some farms in
58 “What’s Bill getting so hysterical about?” “Oh, he can’t do something to his satisfaction – some
trivial thing, I can’t remember now what – and you know how he always insists
on everything being perfect.”
59 You
have to press hard to have any effect.
60 The
military government has consistently smashed any resistance.
61 Anyone
with any sense would have stayed at
home in weather like this.
62 I
don’t need money, but I’d appreciate
any advice.
63 I
could have eaten any vegetables, but
I couldn’t have eaten any meat.
64 “Is
there anything you can’t eat?” “No,
I can eat anything.”
65 Any number of things could happen.
66 They weren’t even able to prevent some quite
small local demonstrations, so I think they’ll be powerless against anything
really determined in the capital.
An example of how the
distinction between some and any is not always so obvious
67 Take anything you like.
68 Take something you like.
The
distinction in meaning in this pair is a bit more subtle than in the examples
above. 67 means you can take whatever you like, and by many would be
interpreted in some situations to mean an invitation to take everything if you
want to. Something in 68, on the other hand, not only implies that you
should take one particular thing but also changes slightly the meaning of like
from the sense of wish in 67 to the sense that attracts you. This pair of sentences is thus also
an illustration of the fundamental principle that pieces of language are often
interdependent. That is, specific meanings are dependent on other specific
meanings. See how this principle is clearly at work in the next group of
examples.
Further examples of the
interdependence of meanings
69 Perhaps I'm imagining things, but didn't I see some foxes in your
garden yesterday?
70*Perhaps I'm imagining things, but
didn't I see any foxes in your garden yesterday?
70 is
nonsensical, because the speaker, by using the negative question with I is effectively saying that he thinks,
is sure even, that he saw a particular group of foxes on a particular occasion,
so the idea of any at all, it doesn't matter which, doesn't fit the rest of the
sentence. The speaker wants to say "I'm practically certain I saw
some", not "*I'm practically certain I saw any". But change I to you
and the situation changes completely: the negative question changes its
implication, and a meaning (in this case any)
that was impossible in a sentence that was almost, but not quite, identical,
becomes possible.
71 Didn’t you see
any foxes in the garden yesterday?
And the answer might be, for instance,
72 No, I didn’t,
or Yes, I did actually.
Yet again, if any is changed to some,
73 Didn’t you see some foxes in the
garden yesterday?
it is implied that the speaker thinks you did see some
foxes in the garden yesterday. Thus, not only does a change of one specific
piece of language often necessitate the change of another specific piece; sometimes
the change of one specific meaning (here any
to some) may change the meaning of a
piece of language that remains (didn’t…see).
(See also 67 and 68 above.)
74 There's a thermos of coffee over there.
Anybody is welcome to help themselves to a cup.
75 Oh hell! Somebody hasn't put the top back on the thermos!
Notice how in 74
the any form is essential, despite the affirmative (it doesn't matter
who it is, whoever it is is welcome), and how in 75 the some form is
essential, despite the negative! Somebody here means "A certain
person has done this dreadful thing, although I don't know who that certain
person is." But somebody in 74 would mean "There is a certain
person who is welcome to a cup, but I'm not going to tell you who it is!",
while anybody in 75 would be totally nonsensical. (One can have
particular fun with a theatrical demonstration of this pair of examples.)
76 They always welcomed any member of our
family with open arms.
77* They sometimes saw any member of
our family in the distance.
77 is nonsense,
although its formal grammatical analysis is exactly the same as that of 76:
subject – time adverb – transitive verb – object – adverb phrase. The essential
difference between the two sentences is simply the meanings of the verbs used.
But if we use see in the sense of receive or listen to, we can use it perfectly normally with any and the same object, as we can see
in 78.
78 The president was always willing to
see any member of our family.
And similarly:
79 Surely some of the fruit is still fresh?
80*Surely any of the fruit is still
fresh?
But
81 Surely any of the fruit would be better for dessert than that stodgy
cake?
What I have argued
above contradicts most of the analysis of some
and any in some large academic
grammars. I have examined in detail the accounts of the two words and their
compounds in the grammars by Quirk et al.,
Huddleston & Pullum et al., and
Carter & McCarthy. See www.lingua.org.uk/saquirk.htm, www.lingua.org.uk/sahuddle.htm, and www.lingua.org.uk/sacart.htm.
There is a special use
of some, sometimes described as a
‘vague’ use. I give an account of this use at www.lingua.org.uk/sacart.htm, under the heading Basic
muddles about stress
Note 1 Here is another
pair of sentences illustrating the same point:
(a) If
you’ve got something on your mind, please tell me.
(b) If
you’ve got anything on your mind, please tell me.
It is important, though, to recognise once
again that this does not mean that some
and any do not each keep their unique
meanings in these two sentences. We can reinforce (b) by adding at all to anything:
(c) If
you’ve got anything at all on your mind, please tell me.
But we cannot do that with something:
(d) *If
you’ve got something at all on your mind, please tell me.
This is because at all fits together with any
very well; it confirms, complements it. At
all is an extreme phrase, a 100% sort of phrase, and this is just what any is too. Just like nothing, for instance. So the answer to
(c) might be:
(e) I’ve
got nothing at all on my mind.
However, some(thing)
is a completely different sort of word: limited, particular, a certain thing.
So we do not use it with phrases like at
all.
Note 2 An unusually
clear example of this mistake can be found in The Cambridge Grammar of the
English Language (see www.lingua.org.uk/sahuddle.htm). The sentence
*Some sulphuric acid
is a dangerous substance
is marked in the grammar (as shown by the
asterisk) as an unacceptable sentence. However, it is not the English that is
incorrect, but the chemistry! The sentence is linguistically perfect. But
presumably all, not just some, sulphuric acid is dangerous. In other words,
this is a statement in impeccable English that is untrue in life.
1 June 2010
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