differences between nothing and anything?????

Welcome to ESL Printables, the website where English Language teachers exchange resources: worksheets, lesson plans, activities, etc.
Our collection is growing every day with the help of many teachers. If you want to download you have to send your own contributions.

ESL Forum:

Techniques and methods in Language Teaching

Games, activities and teaching ideas

Grammar and Linguistics

Teaching material

Concerning worksheets

Concerning powerpoints

Concerning online exercises

Make suggestions, report errors

ESL forum > Message board > differences between nothing and anything?????

differences between nothing and anything?????

Eli!

differences between nothing and anything?????

Hi! I �m a very young learners teacher and I �m also doing the teaching training course for teaching adullts, I wonder if you can help me to understand and explain essily the difference between nothing and anything.

Thanks in advance!

18 Nov 2009

Hi Eli

The basic difference is that NOBODY has already a negative meaning while ANYTHING is used mainly with "not"

example - I don �t know anything about it.

I know nothing about it. (we don �t say - I don �t know nothing about it - because that would be a double negative)

Both sentences mean the same.

Hope I could help. Bye. Carlos

18 Nov 2009

With NOTHING the verb is affirmative, with ANYTHING the verb is negative

I have nothing to tell you

I don �t have anything to tell you

18 Nov 2009

Eli!

thanks a lot for your help!!!!

18 Nov 2009