by R. S. Karunaratne

More on ‘some’ and ‘any’

The peacock has beautiful feathers.

We use ‘some’ and ‘any’ to talk about limited numbers or quantities.
Some
Have some ice cream.
I need some new clothes.
There were some people at the meeting.
Some people are dishonest.
Bring some sugar.
Any
Is there any milk in the jug?
Have you got any money with you?
She didn’t buy any eggs.
Do you want any carrots?
Mother didn’t buy any vinegar.
When we talk about unlimited numbers or quantities, we do not use ‘some’ or ‘any.’
We need water for irrigation.
Amanda always wears nice clothes.
I don’t like meat.
This camera takes good photographs.
We cannot live without air.

Descriptions
Muriel has got black hair.
They were living in small huts.
The devotees were wearing white clothes.
The girls were clad in white uniforms.
The peacock has beautiful feathers.

We do not use ‘some’ when we say what people or things are.
Rosy and Eva are law students.
Lawnmowers are used to cut grass.
The villagers welcomed a group of tourists.
The police said the suspects were illicit immigrants.
This is firewood used for cooking.

We use ‘any’ to mean “one or another - it’s not important which.”
You can meet me at any time.
Select any shirt you like.

A: What newspapers do you want?
B: Any paper is ok.

You can buy stamps from any post office.

A: Which doctor do you want to consult?
B: Any doctor would be ok.

[Activity]

Use ‘any’ or ‘some’ in the blanks and check your answers with the key.

1. .......... doctor will advise you to give up smoking.
2. A: Which colour do you prefer?
B: .......... colour is ok.
3. You can buy sugar at .......... supermarket.

Do you want any carrots?

4. Mother needs ........... salt to make soup.
5. ......... people are jealous of you.

6. I bought .......... bread and butter.
7. ........... fool can commit suicide.
8. ............ judges are lenient.
9. Do you know ............ lawyer who appears for child abuse cases?
10. ........... politicians think no end of themselves.

Key:

1. Any 2. Any 3. Any 4. some 5. Some 6. some 7. Any 8. Some 9. any 10. Some

Match words and meanings

Here’s an exciting way to enrich your vocabulary. Match the words in Column ‘A’ with their meanings in Column ‘B’ and check your answers with the key. The first has been done for you.

[Column A]

A 1. deaden
... 2. deadhead
... 3. deadline
... 4. deadly
... 5. deadpan
... 6. deadwood
... 7. dead zone
... 8. deaf
... 9. deafening
... 10. deal
... 11. dealer

... 12. dealings
... 13. dean
... 14. dear
... 15. dearly
... 16. dearth
... 17. death
... 18. deathbed
... 19. death-defying
... 20. death knell

... 21. deathless
... 22. death sentence
... 23. death’s head
... 24. death squad
... 25. death throes

[Column B]

A. to make something less painful
B. looking serious when you are telling a joke
C. an agreement
D. someone who trades in something
E. a high-ranking official in a university
F. likely to cause death
G. loved very much
H. The bed that someone dies in

I. very dangerous
J. a warning of the end of something
K. a boring or stupid person
L. a place where nothing happens
M. the end of life
N. very much
O. people or things no longer useful

P. extremely loud
Q. lasting forever
R. a picture of a human skull used as a warning
S. the process of dying
T. an unofficial armed group who kill people
U. a legal punishment of a crime by death

V. shortage
W. activities involving other people
X. unable to hear
Y. time or day by which something must be done

Key:

2. K 3. Y 4. F 5. B 6. O 7. L 8. X 9. P 10. C 11. D 12. W 13. E 14. G 15. N 16. V 17. M 18. H 19. I 20. J 21. Q 22. U 23. R 24. T 25. S

'All, half, most, some, no’ and ‘none’

‘All, most’ and ‘some; are used before plural or uncountable nouns.
All
All men are mortal.
All plants need water.
All matter is made up of atoms.
All the tickets were sold.
All the countries have national flags.

Most

Some of the students had no shoes.

Most people like to earn more money.
Most birds can fly.
Most children attend school.
Most trees have green leaves.
Most snakes are non-poisonous.

Some

Some people are dishonest.
Some dogs do not bite.
I don't like some colours.
Give him some more rice.
She drank some water.

We use ‘all of, half, most of’ and ‘some of’ before plural or uncountable nouns. Sometimes we can leave out ‘of’ after ‘all’ and ‘half.’

All of

A: Have you sold all the plants?
B: No, not all of them.

Do you wear all (of) these clothes?
Have you read all (of) these books?
All of them are young.
All (of) the apples you gave me are rotten.

Half of

Half (of) the audience left before the end of the speech.
Give me half (of) the loaf of bread.
Half (of) our group consisted of old people.
They threw away half (of) the food.

Most of

Most of the people who live here are rich.
Most of his students have passed the Law College Entrance Examination.
I know most of your friends.
Most of his novels have been sold out.
Most of the private bus conductors are rude.

Some of

We had to throw away some of the food.
Some of the students had no shoes.
She knows some of the lecturers at the university.
Some of his novels are unreadable.
I want to buy some of his latest novels.
Some of the animals are ferocious.
We can use ‘all’ in mid-position.
These plates are all dirty.

The guests have all gone.
I think they all like you.
We had to remove all the rubbish.
Can you be friendly with all the people?
We can use ‘all’ to mean ‘everything’ or ‘the only thing.’

I told the police all I knew. (everything)
All I want from you is some encouragement. (the only thing)
All he knew was that he was going to die. (the only thing)

No
We use ‘no’ with a noun.
No mobile phones are allowed in the operation theatre.

I have no money.
He has no friends.
She has no knowledge of English.
There is no rain in some parts of the island.

None

We use ‘none’ with or without ‘of.’
None of my friends will be at the party.
I wanted some cake, but there was none left.

Quiz on idioms

An idiom is a special kind of phrase. It is a group of words which have a different meaning when used together from the one it would have if the meaning of each word were taken individually. Tick the meaning of each idiom and check your answers with the key.

1. Henri is a big cheese in our company.

(a) an unimportant official
(b) an important and powerful person
(c) a trouble-maker

2. The minister has been given a blank cheque to negotiate with the strikers.

(a) complete authority
(b) limited authority
(c) no authority

3. The company will not give him a blank cheque for his services.

(a) any payment
(b) an unlimited amount of money
(c) a limited amount of money

4. Get things off your chest. Then you'll feel better.

(a) argue with your rivals
(b) make a confession
(c) talk about problems worrying you

5. Your statement is an old chestnut.

(a) it is uninteresting
(b) it is very important
(c) it is difficult to understand

6. What the company pays him is chicken feed.

(a) a small amount
(b) a big amount
(c) a fixed amount

7. Stop behaving like a headless chicken.

(a) in a timid way
(b) in a proud manner
(c) in an uncontrolled way

8. I'm not going to count my chickens.

(a) waste money
(b) make plans for the future
(c) save money

9. The work in this office is child's play.

(a) easy to deal with
(b) boring
(c) difficult to perform

10. Keep your chin up.

(a) stay calm in a difficult situation
(b) be proud of your achievements
(c) fight bravely

Key:

1. (b) 2. (a) 3. (b) 4. (c) 5. (a) 6. (a) 7. (c) 8. (b) 9. (a) 10. (a)