Some vs any
The short answer
The usual rule is some in positive statements, any in negatives and questions. Two exceptions matter: offers and requests take some, as in would you like some tea? And any in a positive sentence means it does not matter which: take any seat.
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At a glance
Some or Any?
| Compare | SomePositive statements, offers and requests. | AnyNegatives, questions, and “it doesn’t matter which”. |
|---|---|---|
| Positive statement | I’ve got some questions. | Only in the “whichever” sense |
| Negative | Not used | I haven’t got any questions. |
| Question | Offers and requests: some more? | Genuine enquiry: have you got any? |
| With if | Possible | More usual: if you have any problems |
| Countable and uncountable | Both: some books, some water | Both: any books, any water |
| Compounds | someone, something, somewhere | anyone, anything, anywhere |
How to choose
Ask these, in order
- 1
Is the sentence a plain positive statement?
Some.
There are some messages for you.
A straightforward statement of fact.
- 2
Is it negative, or a genuine question?
Any.
I didn’t get any replies. Did you get any?
One negative, one real enquiry.
- 3
Are you offering something, or asking for it?
Some, even though it is a question. Using any here sounds doubtful rather than welcoming.
Would you like some coffee?
An offer, not an enquiry.
NB“Would you like any coffee?” implies you doubt they want it.
- 4
Do you mean “it doesn’t matter which”?
Any, in a positive sentence. This is a different meaning, not an exception.
Any of these will do.
All of them are equally fine.
Side by side
Each one, in full
When to use some
Positive statements, offers and requests.
Some marks an unspecified but real quantity in a positive statement, with both countable plurals and uncountable nouns: some biscuits, some information. It is the default whenever you are simply saying something exists.
It also belongs in offers and requests, which are questions in form but not in intent. Would you like some help? and could I have some water? both expect yes, and any in those slots signals doubt about the answer.
I’ve made some notes for you.
Positive statement.
Shall I get you some water?
An offer.
Some people just don’t reply.
Some as a partial subject.
NBMeaning a portion of them, not a vague number.
When to use any
Negatives, questions, and “it doesn’t matter which”.
Any belongs in negatives and genuine questions, where the existence of the thing is exactly what is in doubt: I haven’t got any change; is there any milk left?
Its second life is in positive sentences, where it means “whichever, it makes no difference”: come any time, ask any of them. That is a separate meaning rather than a loophole, and it is usually stressed in speech.
There isn’t any point arguing.
Negative.
Have you got any questions?
A real enquiry.
You can call any time.
Whenever suits you.
NBPositive, and none the worse for it. This is any’s other meaning.
Mistakes to avoid
What learners actually get wrong
Would you like any tea?
Would you like some tea?
Offers take some. Any turns a welcome into a doubt, it suggests you would be surprised if they said yes, which is not what a host means.
I don’t have some time today.
I don’t have any time today.
Negatives take any. Some in a negative is one of the clearest markers of a learner, and it happens because the positive version of the sentence would take some.
I didn’t see nobody.
I didn’t see anybody.
English does not stack negatives in standard usage, the negative goes on the verb and the compound switches to the any- form. You will hear the double negative in songs and dialects; it is not what an exam expects.
Is there some milk left?
Is there any milk left?
A genuine enquiry takes any. Some in a question presumes the answer is yes, which is exactly right for an offer such as would you like some milk? It is wrong when you are actually asking. Offering or enquiring is the real rule underneath the positive-negative one.
Now use it
Countable or uncountable?
Sort the nouns, and stop saying informations and advices. Reading a rule and being able to apply it are different skills, and only one of them shows up when you speak.
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Questions
Asked and answered
- Why is the textbook rule not enough?
- Because it predicts the wrong word in the two commonest question types learners produce: offers and requests. Would you like some…? and could I have some…? are everyday sentences that the positive-negative rule gets backwards, which is why the intent test is more reliable.
- What about somebody and anybody?
- The compounds follow the same pattern exactly. Someone called in a statement; did anyone call? as a question; I didn’t see anyone as a negative. And anyone can join carries the “whichever” meaning, positive and unremarkable.
- Is any used with singular countable nouns?
- In the “whichever” sense, yes: any student can apply. In the negative and question sense it wants a plural or an uncountable noun, not any book but any books or any information. That is a distinction learners rarely meet and it explains some odd-sounding sentences.