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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Some or Any?
Some or Any?
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ronit85
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Some or Any?
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The rules of some and any are quite clear but still I became confused with these two examples. May I have some/any water please? Could you give me some/any sweets after lunch? Thanks for the help, Ronit |
13 Feb 2019
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Jitterbug
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In both cases "some" is the correct option, because these sentences are both requests to get something that exists. When we ask for a permission to get something we don�t question its presence as opposed to a need for information like in "is there any water?" or "Do you have any sweets?" Cheers |
13 Feb 2019
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ronit85
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Thanks for the clear explanation. I knew the correct answer but had no idea of how to explain it to my pupil. |
13 Feb 2019
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Jitterbug
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I�m glad if it helped  |
13 Feb 2019
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Jitterbug
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I�m glad if it helped |
13 Feb 2019
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cunliffe
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I agree with jitterbug but I would add that �any� is also possible in both cases; more likely in the second. �May I have any water?� = surely there is a bit to spare. �Can you give me any sweets...� = Come on, you can spare me a few sweets!
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13 Feb 2019
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jannabanna
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I think it�s better not to confuse the students. Tell them that normally polite request/questions take "some". Native speakers tend to change in specific situations like in the post before, but don�t complicate things for them. Mine were happy to accept - polite requests/questions take "some". Can you give me some advice? Would you like some advice? Could you give me some advice? |
14 Feb 2019
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yanogator
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Just to add a little: In questions (but not necessarily requests), we use "some" if we expect a positive answer, and "any" if we expect a negative answer, or if we don�t know what to expect. Do you have some sweets? (You usually do) Do you have any sweets? (You didn�t last time, but maybe you do today) Were there some people in the park today? (It was a beautiful day, so there probably were) It�s so cold today; were there any people in the park? If you use "any" in a request, it sounds like the person you are asking is very unwilling to help, as Lynne was demonstrating. Bruce |
14 Feb 2019
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Aisha77
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Yanogator:  THANKSS!! |
14 Feb 2019
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ronit85
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Thanks to you all, ..... and as I always tell my pupils "English is such an EASY language!!!!" (compared to Hebrew of course!) |
15 Feb 2019
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yanogator
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Yes, Ronit. At least we have vowels! Bruce |
15 Feb 2019
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