M : today’s episode is about how to use the words: SOME ANY and NO !

C : hey, Marta, why did you choose this topic?

M : uh..well, I teach English in a private school here in Italy, my course is called “English Amplifier”

C : yes, and all of your students are so nice and so smart!

M : you’re right, they are wonderful, all of them. And they’ve been amazing this last year, they have improved so much. Let me send them a big hello: hey guys, you’re the best!

C : Hey guys!

M : Back to your question, some of my students at English Amplifier asked me about the difference between “some” and “any”. And I thought that maybe it could be interesting to our listeners as well.

C : Ok, let’s start by saying that ‘SOME’ is used in positive statements and ‘ANY’ in questions and negative statements.

M : Right.

C : for example : Marta, do you have any friends in Michigan ?

M : Yes, I do. I have some dear friends in Michigan.

C : And do you have any friends in New Zealand ?

M : uhm… no, I don’t have any friends there. I don’t know anybody from New Zealand. Not yet.

C : Do you know anybody living in Australia?

M : I do know somebody living in Down Under, yes, our beautiful friend Laura.

C : Hi Laura! Find a cute Koala bear and give him some nice big kisses from me and Marta. ☺

M : Ok, the main rule is clear. SOME in positive statements and ANY in questions and negative sentences.

C : But whenever there’s a rule, there is also….

M : ….the exception to the rule?

C : Exactly. SOME is used in questions -instead of any- when we’re dealing with REQUESTS for example: “Excuse me, could you give me some information about this museum?” or : “Can I have some water please?”

M : and OFFERS, like in : Would you like some bread? Can I get you something to drink?

C : Right, again: we use SOME in questions only for OFFERS and REQUESTS.

M : Ok, got it.

C : now let’s take a better look at negative sentences. Let’s imagine …an empty fridge.

M : how sad! Ok, the fridge is empty…and I’m hungry.

C : I’m sorry Marta, There isn’t any food in the fridge.

M : There isn’t any food in the fridge. Not Any. That’s “any” used in a negative sentence.

C : Right, but I can also say: There is no food in the fridge.

M : “no” stands for “not any”.

C : when “no” is used the verb is positive. For example:. there isn’t anything to eat. There is nothing to eat. Or: There aren’t any kangaroos in Italy. There are no kangaroos in Italy.

M : Laura, please, next time you visit Italy bring us some kangaroos! ☺

C : Kangaroos, koalas, wombats…we’ll be happy with petting any cute animals from Australia.

M : oh, wait a second. You’ve just used “any” in a positive sentence.

C : yes, when “any” is used in a positive statement it means : “it doesn’t matter which”. For example: “you can call me any time in the afternoon”. or: “A mother can do anything for her children”. Or : Where do you want to go on vacation this summer? We can go anywhere as long as there are beaches and sunshine.”

M : Sunshine! We definitely could use some sunshine here in northern Italy.

C : oh yeah, we’ve had a most unusual and terrible winter, with a lot of snow, never-ending rain and even hailstorms lately. Anyway, it’s May now and the weather will improve for sure.

M : Quoting the film “The Crow” : it can’t rain all the time! ☺

C : We hope so!

C : Ok, listeners, that’s all for now. You can find the transcript of this episode on our blog: www.myamericanfriendblog.com , Thank you everyone for liking us on facebook, following us on Twitter, watching our videos on youtube. We have received a lot of comments lately, we’re always very happy to hear from you. Special thanks to :

M : Olivier, Bairma, Gabor, Sergio, Afshin, Gertraud, Manfred, Angela, Hoa Tran, Alessandro, Igor, Letizia. Thanks everybody! Bye bye!

C : Bye!