Variations on 'some', 'every', 'no', and 'any': How and When to Use in English
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Variations on 'some', 'every', 'no', and 'any'
Undefined structures with SOME:
| something | an object, situation, quality or action which is not exactly known |
| somebody or someone | an unknown person |
| somewhere | in an unknown place |
| somehow | in a way that is not known |
Undefined structures with ANY:
| anything | something (used in questions and negative structures), or when it doesn't matter what thing |
| anybody or anyone | a person (used in questions and negative structures), or when it doesn't matter what person |
| anywhere | somewhere (used in questions and negative structures), or when it doesn't matter what place |
| anyway or anyhow | in any case, not considering other things |
Undefined structures with NO:
| nothing | not anything |
| nobody or no one | not anybody |
| nowhere | in no place |
| no way | impossible |
Undefined structures with EVERY:
| everything | all, the entirety |
| everybody or everyone | all the people |
| everywhere | in every place |
Note:
• Any and no are respectively used in negative and affirmative constructions (to avoid a double negative):
• Any and no are respectively used in negative and affirmative constructions (to avoid a double negative):
I don't know anybody here. I know no-one here.
Nobody is perfect. There isn't anyone who is perfect.
Nobody is perfect. There isn't anyone who is perfect.
• With somebody, everybody, nobody (and someone etc.) the verb is always conjugated in the singular form:
Everybody needs somebody.
Everyone has to leave.
Everyone has to leave.
Exercise 1
Polly: Alright everybody, I'm going to the store. Does anyone need ?
Luna: Can you pick up herbal tea? There's left in the kitchen.
Kevin: the napkins are gone too, can you buy more? I don't have money, but I'll pay you back tomorrow, I promise.
Luna: Can you pick up herbal tea? There's left in the kitchen.
Kevin: the napkins are gone too, can you buy more? I don't have money, but I'll pay you back tomorrow, I promise.
Polly: Alright everybody, I'm going to the store. Does anyone need anything 1?
Luna: Can you pick up some 2 herbal tea? There's none 3 left in the kitchen.
Kevin: All 4 the napkins are gone too, can you buy more? I don't have any 5 money, but I'll pay you back tomorrow, I promise.
Luna: Can you pick up some 2 herbal tea? There's none 3 left in the kitchen.
Kevin: All 4 the napkins are gone too, can you buy more? I don't have any 5 money, but I'll pay you back tomorrow, I promise.
1 anything: In an interrogative construction such as this one, we use the pronoun 'anything' to indicate any item which anybody in the office might need. We use 'anything' in interrogative questions when we are unsure of the possible response.
1 something: We cannot use 'something' in an interrogative construction such as this one.
1 nothing: The term 'nothing' generally isn't used in interrogative constructions in English. The question 'does anyone need nothing?' is very unnatural, and actually asks if someone needs 'nothing'.
2 some: We use 'some' to describe uncountable nouns in interrogative constructions such as this one. Note that 'some' is used in interrogative constructions when a positive answer is supposed.
2 any: Although 'any' is often used in questions, we cannot use the term here because Luna's question supposes a positive reply. 'Any' is generally used in questions when the answer to the question is truly unknown. In other words, Luna expects Polly to buy some tea. Asking the question 'Can you pick up any tea?' is very unnatural, and indicates that Luna is unsure that Polly will buy her tea or that she will even find tea at the store.
2 no: Using 'no' in this construction doesn't make any sense.
3 none: 'None' is the best choice here. 'None' replaces the noun 'tea' ('herbal tea', to be exact). 'None' indicates that there is no herbal tea in the kitchen.
3 some: Luna asks Polly to buy some more tea, because there is 'none' left in the kitchen. It wouldn't make sense for Luna to ask Polly to buy more tea when there is still tea in the kitchen!
3 no: We cannot use 'no' here because the sentence requires a pronoun and not an adjective. We could say that there is 'no tea left in the kitchen' but we cannot say that there is 'no left in the kitchen'.
4 All: 'All' is the best choice here. 'All the napkins are gone' indicates that there are 'no napkins remaining'. Napkins are used to clean one's hands and face while eating. They can be made of fabric or paper.
4 Some: We cannot use 'some' without the preposition 'of' following it. We could say 'some of the napkins are gone', but this choice was not offered.
4 None: 'None' cannot be used in a construction such as this one. We could say 'none of the napkins are gone, which would indicate that 'all the napkins are still in the kitchen'. However this would actually express the opposite meaning of the sentence.
5 any: Because 'don't' already carries the negation of the phrase, we must use 'any'.
5 no: 'I don't have no money' forms a double negative, which is generally grammatically incorrect in English.
5 some: In negative constructions such as this one, 'any' is used rather than 'some'. 'Any' is the equivalent of 'some' in negative constructions.
Exercise 2
Unfortunately, Icarus doesn't have to eat dinner with this weekend, so he will probably stay home and do of his accounting work. of his friends are out of town on business, so Icarus is feeling lonely.
Unfortunately, Icarus doesn't have anyone 1 to eat dinner with this weekend, so he will probably stay home and do some 2 of his accounting work. All 3 of his friends are out of town on business, so Icarus is feeling lonely.
1 anyone: We use 'anyone' here because the term 'doesn't' carries the negation in the sentence. We must use the affirmative pronoun 'anyone' to complete the construction correctly. 'Anyone' here actually refers to 'nobody' being willing to eat dinner with Icarus. 'Anyone' is used in negative constructions and interrogative constructions where we are unsure of the answer.
1 someone: We cannot use 'someone' here because of the negation in the sentence. 'Someone' (like 'some') is not used in negative constructions such as this one. 'Doesn't' carries the negation of this sentence, and so the affirmative term 'any' is required. We can use 'someone' in interrogative constructions where an answer is anticipated. For example, the question 'Won't someone help me with my work?' suggests that the speaker anticipates one person being willing to help them.
1 no one: Using 'no one' creates a double negative in this sentence, which grammatically incorrect in English. 'Doesn't' carries the negation in this sentence, which means that we must use the affirmative pronoun 'anyone' here.
1 everyone: 'Everyone' doesn't fit in this sentence. Although 'everyone' is conjugated as if it were a singular noun, it indicates multiple people.
2 some: In affirmative constructions like this, we use 'some' to describe an undefined portion (an indefinite amount) of Icarus's work. 'Some' is used here to describe an unknown quantity.
2 any: We cannot use 'any' in this construction, because the sentence does not carry any negation. We must use 'some', which is the negative equivalent of 'any'. 'Any' is used only in negative constructions, or in interrogative corrections when the answer is unknown.
2 none: Although 'none' is grammatically correct in this sentence, it makes no sense to use it here. 'None' indicates the absence of something, and given the context of the sentence it doesn't belong here. Icarus would not decide to do 'none' of his accounting work if his friends weren't around.
3 All: Because 'nobody' carries the negation of the sentence, we use 'all' because we need an affirmative pronoun to correctly complete the construction. 'All' indicates the number of Icarus's friends who are out of town.
3 None: It doesn't make sense to use 'none' here, given the context of the sentence. Icarus would have no reason to feel lonely if 'none' of his friends were out of town.
3 Every: The term 'every' is generally followed by a noun or pronoun. It is grammatically incorrect to say 'every of his friends'. However, we might say 'Each of his friends is out of town', if we were referring to a relatively small number of people.
Exercise 3
Since we have not yet told about our newest product, of our clients have been able to offer us their opinions.
Since we have not yet told anyone 1 about our newest product, none 2 of our clients have been able to offer us their opinions.
1 anyone: Because 'not' carries the negation of the sentence, we use the affirmative term 'anyone' here to indicate that 'no one' has been told about the product. 'Anyone' is the affirmative equivalent of 'someone' and is used in negative constructions such as this one.
1 someone: We do not use 'someone' in negative constructions such as this. When a question carries negation, we must use an affirmative term (anyone) to correctly complete the question. Using 'someone' in this sentence would indicate that the speaker (or the company) hasn't told one particular person about the product, which doesn't make sense given the context here.
1 no one: Using 'no one' in this construction creates a double negative, which is grammatically incorrect in English. 'Has not' already carries the negation of this sentence.
2 none: 'None' is the best choice here. The 'clients' do not know about the product, so they cannot possibly offer their opinions. 'None' is used to describe the absence of a quantity or amount, it is generally used as pronoun to replace an object or objects in a sentence.
2 all: Using 'all' here does not make sense given the negation of the previous clause in the sentence. Because we know that the company 'has not' announced their new product, it would be impossible for them to offer their opinions.
2 every: The term 'every' is generally followed by a noun or pronoun. It is grammatically incorrect to say 'every of our clients'. However, we might say 'Every one of our clients'.
Exercise 4
Fill in the blanks below with words from the list.
Anywhere | Everywhere | Nowhere | Everybody | Nobody | Anybody | Somebody
Be careful! Some words may be used more than once or not at all.
Kevin: Icarus, have you seen Luna lately? I can't find her .
Icarus: Yes, Luna can be very elusive. I've never met like her.
Kevin: I've looked : the lounge, the boardroom, the conference room, even the women's bathroom! I've asked in the building where she is: our entire staff, the security guards and even the elevator man. has a clue where she is hiding!
Icarus: Have you tried her office?
Kevin: I'll be right back.
Anywhere | Everywhere | Nowhere | Everybody | Nobody | Anybody | Somebody
Be careful! Some words may be used more than once or not at all.
Kevin: Icarus, have you seen Luna lately? I can't find her .
Icarus: Yes, Luna can be very elusive. I've never met like her.
Kevin: I've looked : the lounge, the boardroom, the conference room, even the women's bathroom! I've asked in the building where she is: our entire staff, the security guards and even the elevator man. has a clue where she is hiding!
Icarus: Have you tried her office?
Kevin: I'll be right back.
Fill in the blanks below with words from the list.
Anywhere | Everywhere | Nowhere | Everybody | Nobody | Anybody | Somebody
Be careful! Some words may be used more than once or not at all.
Kevin: Icarus, have you seen Luna lately? I can't find her anywhere 1.
Icarus: Yes, Luna can be very elusive. I've never met anybody 2 like her.
Kevin: I've looked everywhere 3: the lounge, the boardroom, the conference room, even the women's bathroom! I've asked everybody 4 in the building where she is: our entire staff, the security guards and even the elevator man. Nobody 5 has a clue where she is hiding!
Icarus: Have you tried her office?
Kevin: I'll be right back.
Anywhere | Everywhere | Nowhere | Everybody | Nobody | Anybody | Somebody
Be careful! Some words may be used more than once or not at all.
Kevin: Icarus, have you seen Luna lately? I can't find her anywhere 1.
Icarus: Yes, Luna can be very elusive. I've never met anybody 2 like her.
Kevin: I've looked everywhere 3: the lounge, the boardroom, the conference room, even the women's bathroom! I've asked everybody 4 in the building where she is: our entire staff, the security guards and even the elevator man. Nobody 5 has a clue where she is hiding!
Icarus: Have you tried her office?
Kevin: I'll be right back.
1 anywhere: We use 'anywhere' here, which agrees with the negative construction of Kevin's phrase. 'Anywhere' is the negative equivalent of 'somewhere'. It expresses that Kevin was unable to find Luna in 'ANY' location.
2 anybody: 'Anybody' is the negative equivalent of 'somebody'. Because Icarus's statement is a negative construction, we must use 'anyone' to express that Icarus has not met any person similar to Luna.
3 everywhere: In an affirmative construction such as this one, we use 'everywhere' to express 'all of the locations' or 'each location' in which Kevin has searched for Luna.
4 everybody: 'Everybody' is used to indicate 'all the people' in the building with whom Kevin spoke.
5 Nobody: 'Nobody' refers to the people who were unable to tell Kevin where Luna is. We use 'nobody' in affirmative constructions such as this one.
Exercise 5
Fill in the blanks below with the following words:
Something | Anything | Nothing | No Way | Some way | Any way | Somewhere | Nowhere | Anywhere
Be careful! Some words may be used more than once or not at all, and there may be more than one correct answer!
Bob: Hey Horatio, are you going tonight?
Horatio: I will go home to my chihuahua. So, no, I am doing special.
Bob: Well, Sophie and I are going to have a pizza party to celebrate Toby's first day of kindergarten. Would you like to come with us?
Horatio: There is I will go with you. I don't like children, and I hate pizza.
Bob: Okay. Well, maybe we could go else, like a casino.
Horatio: Okay, I'll see you at eight.
Something | Anything | Nothing | No Way | Some way | Any way | Somewhere | Nowhere | Anywhere
Be careful! Some words may be used more than once or not at all, and there may be more than one correct answer!
Bob: Hey Horatio, are you going tonight?
Horatio: I will go home to my chihuahua. So, no, I am doing special.
Bob: Well, Sophie and I are going to have a pizza party to celebrate Toby's first day of kindergarten. Would you like to come with us?
Horatio: There is I will go with you. I don't like children, and I hate pizza.
Bob: Okay. Well, maybe we could go else, like a casino.
Horatio: Okay, I'll see you at eight.
Fill in the blanks below with the following words:
Something | Anything | Nothing | No Way | Some way | Any way | Somewhere | Nowhere | Anywhere
Be careful! Some words may be used more than once or not at all, and there may be more than one correct answer!
Bob: Hey Horatio, are you going anywhere 1 tonight?
Horatio: I will go home to my chihuahua. So, no, I am doing nothing 2 special.
Bob: Well, Sophie and I are going to have a pizza party to celebrate Toby's first day of kindergarten. Would you like to come with us?
Horatio: There is no way 3 I will go with you. I don't like children, and I hate pizza.
Bob: Okay. Well, maybe we could go somewhere 4 else, like a casino.
Horatio: Okay, I'll see you at eight.
Something | Anything | Nothing | No Way | Some way | Any way | Somewhere | Nowhere | Anywhere
Be careful! Some words may be used more than once or not at all, and there may be more than one correct answer!
Bob: Hey Horatio, are you going anywhere 1 tonight?
Horatio: I will go home to my chihuahua. So, no, I am doing nothing 2 special.
Bob: Well, Sophie and I are going to have a pizza party to celebrate Toby's first day of kindergarten. Would you like to come with us?
Horatio: There is no way 3 I will go with you. I don't like children, and I hate pizza.
Bob: Okay. Well, maybe we could go somewhere 4 else, like a casino.
Horatio: Okay, I'll see you at eight.
1 anywhere: 'Anywhere' can be used to describe an unspecified location such as the one Bob is asking about. 'Anywhere' is the best term to use when asking a question which doesn't suppose a specific reply.
2 nothing: Because Horatio begins his sentence with 'no', we can assume that he will respond in the negative. Therefore, the best choice here is 'nothing' which agrees with the affirmative nature of Horatio's sentence (I am doing nothing).
3 no way: It seems clear from Horatio's statement 'I don't like children and I hate pizza...' that Horatio is declining Bob's request to attend Toby's party. Therefore, Horatio's affirmative statement ('There is...') requires negation. 'No way' expresses there is 'no chance' that Horatio will come. 'There is no way that I will come with you' is an emphatic way to make a negative statement.
4 somewhere: When talking about a location which is unknown or uncertain, we use 'somewhere' to describe it. In this case, Bob proposes that they go to a different location (other than a pizza restaurant) to celebrate Toby's first day of kindergarten. Note: although 'somewhere' refers to an uncertain location, the location is real.
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