Some - any

Introduction

One difference between "some" and "any" is quantity.

• Some cookies could mean:
  • two or three cookies (snacktime) OR
  • eight thousand cookies (a cookie factory)

• Any brownies: at least one brownie.
  • one ⇒ an / a (compare à l'article "un(e)" en français)
  • an + -y = any

• "Not any" means none. Not one. Zero. Zilch.

Affirmative (+) / negative (-) / interrogative (?)

• Dans les phrases affirmatives, on trouve presque toujours some.
• Dans les phrases négatives, any.
• Pour les phrases interrogatives,
  • si tu sais que quelque chose existe, emploie some
  • sinon, any.

pronunciation	example
affirmative (+) ə · 'fɜrm · ə · tɪv	I have got some pennies, but I need a dollar!
negative (-) neg · ə · tɪv	You don't have any French fries!
interrogative (?) ɪn · tə · 'ra:g · ə · tɪv	Do you have any new games? May I have some chips?

Some- || Any-

something	Let's have something to eat!	someone somebody	Ask someone for help!	somewhere	Let's go somewhere fun!
anything	We don't have anything to eat!	anyone anybody	Don't ask anyone anything!   - Ne demande rien à personne!	anywhere	There isn't anywhere to sit!

something / ? anything ?

quelque chose: I said something wrong

not anything

rien (objet grammatical ❢❢ -- pour "rien" sujet grammatical utilise nothing), par exemple: Nothing is missing. / There is nothing missing

someone / somebody // ? anyone / anybody ?

quelqu'un(e)

not anyone

personne (objet grammatical ❢❢ -- pour "personne" sujet grammatical utilise no-one), par exemple: No-one is missing. / There is nobody missing.

somewhere / ? anywhere ?

quelque part

not anywhere

nulle part

Countable vs. Uncountable

traduction de la terminologie grammaticale

dénombrable v. indénombrable

Il s'agit de quelque chose qu'on peut compter ou quantifier.

Concepts indénombrables

• money -- l'argent (you can count pounds, pence, dollars, cents, Euros and rubles, of course)
• time -- le temps (you can count hours, minutes and seconds, but not "time" itself)
• information -- les informations (never takes an -s in English!)
• love -- l'amour
  

concept	affirmative	negative	interrogative
money	I think she has some money left. left = qui reste	I don't think she has any money left.	I wonder if she has some money left. I wonder if she has any money left. to wonder = se demander
time	I think she has some time this afternoon.	I don't think she has any time this afternoon!	Does she have any time this afternoon Does she have some time this afternoon?
information	We need some information.	I can't find any information about Wallace & Gromit!	Did you find any information on the web? Did you find some information on the web?
love	There is some love in that family.	There isn't any love in that family.	Is there any love in that family? Is there some love in that family?

NB: You will see three of the four words with an -s.

• She has three loves: her daughter, her daughter's photography, and her garden
• We go to Paris three times a year. (fois)
• The pound and the dollar are two different monies. (devises)
• "information" never takes an -s in English.

liquids and grains

Liquids cannot be easily counted, and who wants to count grains of rice?

• I would like some coffee. (liquid)
• I need to buy some coffee. (powder, ground (moulu))

Some examples for "mass nouns": sand, coffee, sugar, flour, rice