Nouns, articles & quantity · CEFR A2 · Everyday

some / any — English nouns and articles

"Some" for offers and statements; "any" for questions and negatives.

The shape

some in statements · any in questions and negatives

Talk about an amount you have not counted.

In Hindi

कथन और पेशकश में "some"; सवाल और नकार में "any"।

CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.

The mistake to fix first

The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.

Commonly saidCorrect English

I do not have some money.

I do not have any money.

Negatives take "any".

some / any examples

Easiest first. Every sentence is authored, with the Hindi it comes from.

  1. I have some books.

    मेरे पास कुछ किताबें हैं।

  2. I need some water.

    मुझे कुछ पानी चाहिए।

  3. I bought some fruit.

    मैंने कुछ फल खरीदे।

  4. Do you need anything?

    क्या तुम्हें कुछ चाहिए?

  5. I do not want anything.

    मुझे कुछ नहीं चाहिए।

    also correct: I don't need anything.

  6. There are some people in the room.

    कमरे में कुछ लोग हैं।

  7. Do you have any money?

    क्या तुम्हारे पास कुछ पैसे हैं?

  8. I do not have any problem.

    मुझे कोई समस्या नहीं है।

    also correct: I have no problem.

  9. I did not say anything.

    मैंने कुछ नहीं कहा।

    also correct: I said nothing.

  10. I need a little sugar.

    मुझे थोड़ी चीनी चाहिए।

Easy to confuse with

Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.

Questions people ask

What is the some / any used for?
"Some" for offers and statements; "any" for questions and negatives. In practice: talk about an amount you have not counted.
How do you form the some / any?
some in statements · any in questions and negatives.
What is the most common mistake with the some / any?
Saying “I do not have some money.” instead of “I do not have any money.”. Negatives take "any".

Where some / any fits

Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.

some / any is a CEFR A2 structure — the everyday band — and it belongs to nouns, articles & quantity. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.

Reading it is not the same as saying it.

CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.

Practise the some / any

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