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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Something or anything?
Something or anything?
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kara305
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Something or anything?
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Please help me with this sentence. " Can �t you do ______________ with your family?" A. something B. anything. and why do you choose that answer. Thank you! |
4 May 2015
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yining
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Can �t you do ______________ with your family?" anything |
4 May 2015
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cunliffe
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Either, but I think grammatically, it should be anything, which comes after a negative interrogative. The stress would be on anything. If you get really exasperated, you would then say, �Is there nothing you can do with your family? � (I may be wrong...) |
4 May 2015
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Peter Hardy
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As a general
rule, we use SOME (-thing) in affirmative sentences and ANY (-thing) in interrogative and
negative sentences, but we can use ANY (singular or plural) in affirmative
sentences, "no matter which".
ANY (anything) in affirmatives sentences:
You
can take any book you like. (You can
take one book, no matter which one) You
can take any books you like. (You can
take more than one book, no matter which ones) That
exercise is very easy. Any child here
could answer that. (This boy or that
girl, it doesn �t matter who you choose, they all know the answer) You
don �t need to go there at the weekend. You
can go any day you want. It �s always
open. ANY in conditional sentences We usually use
ANY after "if" even in affirmative sentences (but SOME may also be
possible)
If you
see anything strange, tell me If you
like any of these books, you can borrow it.
Cheers, Peter
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4 May 2015
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joannajs
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The answer would depend on how unbearable your family is :-D "Can you do something with my family?" would suggest a lesser problem, as some in questions can be used if you are expecting a positive answer (e.g. Can you give me something to drink?) "Can you do anything with my family?" is an indication for me that a situation is really grave (Adams family???) and it �s hard to do anything really. Also, as my learned colleagues already suggested, if it �s an elementary level - I �d rather go for "anything" as it follows the rule of "any-" for questions and negations". The higher the level - B1/2 and up - the more options. best, joanna |
4 May 2015
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annedavid
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I would use both, depending on the situation, eg: I would say, "Can �t you do something with your family?" to someone who didn �t know what to do at the weekend. I would say, "Can �t you do anything with you family?" to someone who complained that they didn �t get on with their family. Hope that helps, Anne |
4 May 2015
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yanogator
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Yes, wither choice as some have said, for the reasons Anne gave very clearly. I also agree that if it is an elementary class, "anything" is the better choice. Bruce
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4 May 2015
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kwsp
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Here in Iowa if someone asks, "Can �t you do something with your family?" to a parent or parents it means, "Can �t you make your children behave?" If asked by a teenager to another teenager it means, "Can �t you find some way to get your parents to let you do what you want to do?" It can also mean, "Isn �t there something you can do to make your family members be more agreeable in this adverse situation?" "Isn �t there anything you can do with your family?" might be a parent speaking to their rebellious teen, "Can �t you find ANYTHING you enjoy doing with your family?" |
4 May 2015
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kara305
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Thank you very much for your answers. I Kara |
5 May 2015
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