M : today’s episode is about how to use the words: SOME ANY and NO !
C : hey, Marta, why did you choose this topic?
M : uh..well, I teach English in a private school here in Italy, my course is called “English Amplifier”
C : yes, and all of your students are so nice and so smart!
M : you’re right, they are wonderful, all of them. And they’ve been amazing this last year, they have improved so much. Let me send them a big hello: hey guys, you’re the best!
C : Hey guys!
M : Back to your question, some of my students at English Amplifier asked me about the difference between “some” and “any”. And I thought that maybe it could be interesting to our listeners as well.
C : Ok, let’s start by saying that ‘SOME’ is used in positive statements and ‘ANY’ in questions and negative statements.
M : Right.
C : for example : Marta, do you have any friends in Michigan ?
M : Yes, I do. I have some dear friends in Michigan.
C : And do you have any friends in New Zealand ?
M : uhm… no, I don’t have any friends there. I don’t know anybody from New Zealand. Not yet.
C : Do you know anybody living in Australia?
M : I do know somebody living in Down Under, yes, our beautiful friend Laura.
C : Hi Laura! Find a cute Koala bear and give him some nice big kisses from me and Marta. ☺
M : Ok, the main rule is clear. SOME in positive statements and ANY in questions and negative sentences.
C : But whenever there’s a rule, there is also….
M : ….the exception to the rule?
C : Exactly. SOME is used in questions -instead of any- when we’re dealing with REQUESTS for example: “Excuse me, could you give me some information about this museum?” or : “Can I have some water please?”
M : and OFFERS, like in : Would you like some bread? Can I get you something to drink?
C : Right, again: we use SOME in questions only for OFFERS and REQUESTS.
M : Ok, got it.
C : now let’s take a better look at negative sentences. Let’s imagine …an empty fridge.
M : how sad! Ok, the fridge is empty…and I’m hungry.
C : I’m sorry Marta, There isn’t any food in the fridge.
M : There isn’t any food in the fridge. Not Any. That’s “any” used in a negative sentence.
C : Right, but I can also say: There is no food in the fridge.
M : “no” stands for “not any”.
C : when “no” is used the verb is positive. For example:. there isn’t anything to eat. There is nothing to eat. Or: There aren’t any kangaroos in Italy. There are no kangaroos in Italy.
M : Laura, please, next time you visit Italy bring us some kangaroos! ☺
C : Kangaroos, koalas, wombats…we’ll be happy with petting any cute animals from Australia.
M : oh, wait a second. You’ve just used “any” in a positive sentence.
C : yes, when “any” is used in a positive statement it means : “it doesn’t matter which”. For example: “you can call me any time in the afternoon”. or: “A mother can do anything for her children”. Or : Where do you want to go on vacation this summer? We can go anywhere as long as there are beaches and sunshine.”
M : Sunshine! We definitely could use some sunshine here in northern Italy.
C : oh yeah, we’ve had a most unusual and terrible winter, with a lot of snow, never-ending rain and even hailstorms lately. Anyway, it’s May now and the weather will improve for sure.
M : Quoting the film “The Crow” : it can’t rain all the time! ☺
C : We hope so!
C : Ok, listeners, that’s all for now. You can find the transcript of this episode on our blog: www.myamericanfriendblog.com , Thank you everyone for liking us on facebook, following us on Twitter, watching our videos on youtube. We have received a lot of comments lately, we’re always very happy to hear from you. Special thanks to :
M : Olivier, Bairma, Gabor, Sergio, Afshin, Gertraud, Manfred, Angela, Hoa Tran, Alessandro, Igor, Letizia. Thanks everybody! Bye bye!
C : Bye!
