John’s English Blog

This is the seventh in a series of blog posts about articles. I recommend you read the previous blog posts in this series before you read this one. In the previous article we looked at countable and uncountable nouns in more detail and a few tricky cases. In this blog post we’ll look at when to use the determiners some, any and all.

uncountable nouns

In the previous article we looked at countable and uncountable nouns. We don’t use a/an with uncountable or plural nouns, but often we use some or any.

• When we’re not thinking about an amount or number of something we don’t use some or any.
• When we’re thinking of a limited amount or number we use some or any.
• Generally we use some in positive statements.
• Generally we use any in negative statements and questions.

Some examples:

• Will there be chocolate cake at your birthday?
  I’m asking about the existence of chocolate and not the amount.
• Do you want some chocolate cake?
  I’m offering you an unspecified amount of chocolate cake.
• Is there any chocolate cake?
  I’m asking for a limited amount of chocolate cake.
• I’m sorry, there isn’t any chocolate cake.
  I’m giving you some very bad news.

no article

We use no article with uncountable or plural nouns:

• when we don’t care about the amount
• when we don’t know the amount
• when we can’t say how much

Examples:

• Do penguins live on the equator?
  We’re not interested in how many.
• I like chocolate cake.
  We’re talking about chocolate cake in general.
• There were cakes on all the tables.
  We’re talking about a lot of cakes. 😄
• This cake contains nuts.
  The amount doesn’t matter.
• Orange and almond cake is delicious, but chocolate cake is better.
  We’re talking about cake in general here.
• There was cake all over the floor.
  There’s a lot of cake on the floor. 😞
• You have nice eyes.
  It’s a specific number of eyes.

some

We use some with uncountable or plural nouns:

• in positive clauses for a limited amount
• positive clauses for an indefinite amount
• in questions when we expect a positive answer
• in questions when we want a positive answer

Examples:

• There were some cakes on the table.
  We’re talking about a limited number of cakes.
• There might be some more cake.
  I don’t know how much cake there might be, but I expect there is some.
  
• Would you like some more cake?
  I expect you to say yes. Why would you say no?
• Please, may I have some more cake?
  I hope you will say yes.

any

We use any with uncountable or plural nouns:

• in negative clauses for a limited amount
• in negative clauses for an indefinite amount
• in questions when we expect a negative answer
• in questions when we want a negative answer

Examples:

• There isn’t any chocolate cake left.
  😞
• I don’t know if there’s any chocolate cake left.
  I expect there is no cake left.
• Do you want any more black pudding?
  I expect you to say no.
• Is there any more cake?
  I expect you to say no.

quiz

Back to the article

1. There should be some free time after the presentation.
2. You’re a good friend. Can you give me some help on Sunday?
3. There aren’t any rooms available.
4. When you’re at the shop can you buy some bread?
5. I’m sorry, I don’t have any time today.
6. I know you’re on a diet, but do you want any cake?
7. Those aren’t sheep, they’re llamas.
8. flattery won’t get you anywhere.
9. Are you going to give me any trouble today?
10. It’s hot today. Do you want some water?
11. To make a tasty cake you need chocolate.
12. There’s hardly any milk left in the fridge.
13. “It’s full of stars.” 2001 A Space Odyssey.
14. I’m in a hurry, do you need any more help?
15. You’ll need some spending money for your holiday.
16. I like pizza.
17. It’s very late, do you think there are any cafés still open?
18. Could you pick up some milk on the way home?
19. I don’t think there’s any cake left, but you can check.
20. As I was cycling to Brighton I saw some llamas.
21. I know some interesting sights in London.

Check

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