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ESL forum >
Ask for help > trouble explaining some/any
trouble explaining some/any
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MarionG
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trouble explaining some/any
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Can someone help me please?
I understood that the general rule is that we use "some" for affermative, and �any � for negative sentences and for questions, both for count and non-count nouns. This I can explain to students.
"Are there any clean socks?" "There isn �t any wine." So far so good...
But...
How do I explain that we don �t use �any � in questions like: "Can I have some coffee?" "Would you like some cheese?
Is it because we are not asking about the �existence � of the coffee/cheese but rather about someone �s preference? See what I mean? I can �t even formulate it clearly, How am I supposed to explain it to my students? (pre-intermediate)
Would appreciate your help. |
2 Mar 2011
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franknbea
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Hi Marion here �s a pretty good explanation,
good luck |
2 Mar 2011
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pilarmham
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The way I explain this to my students is that "Can I have some coffee?" and "Would you like some cheese?" aren �t real questions but polite expressions (offers or requests), so the speaker expects a "yes" for an answer. No information is sought.
Hope this can help! |
2 Mar 2011
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Zora
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The general rule is: some with affirmative sentences and with polite offers, requests or suggestions such as "Would you like some ...?" "Can I have some ...?", etc. Any goes with all other questions and negative sentences.
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2 Mar 2011
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MarionG
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Frank, amazing to see how close the question there is to mine! and Pilarmham, I see your point but still...I probably am looking for something that isn �t there but the explanation didn �t satisfy me..I find myself using �some � also in questions where I really do not know the answer...When I ask "would you like some wine?" I don �t know if the person is driving, drinks, prefers beer etc. etc. so it �s not like I expect him to say yes. I also don �t necessarily hope he will say yes as suggested in the site...
Any other explanations? I still think that maybe it has to do with the fact that we want to know if they do or don �t want some, not whether there is or isn �t any...
edit: Zora, you posted while I typed..
That actually makes more sense, it simply is the rule with polite questions and requests, not because of some expected answer...
We use any for questions and negative sentences.
When our question is a polite request or offer, we use some.
That is also something I can explain to students as such without driving them nuts. (By now they are used to the fact that there always is an exception.. :) thanks.
How wonderful, sometimes things are simpler than they seem... |
2 Mar 2011
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Fernandez
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I will try to offer another point of view, although the explanation is the same:
When you make an offer as in: Would you like some wine?
What you are really doing, in a general context, is trying to make your guests feel welcome so the question cannot be with "any" which may implay some sort of negativity or lack of interest.
When you use "some", which has a much positive feeling, you are showing you want them to know that you are willing to make them feel at home. In short, you are being polite. |
2 Mar 2011
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class centre
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The way I explain it to my sts is as simple as the following - if you are expectig the answer YES ( or you are sure the answer will be YES) you use SOME in a question.
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2 Mar 2011
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Minka
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I don �t even go there at first. SOME for positive statements, ANY for negative and interrogative. That �s all. I only mention that there are two EXCEPTIONS.
Later on when we learn that and when we do exercise we come across "Would you like some..." and "Can I have some..." . Then I remind them of those two exceptions and tell them: Well, here they are. When you offer something or ask for something, you use SOME in a question. But only then. |
2 Mar 2011
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douglas
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I teach it the "if there �s a good chance the answer will be postive" way, my students seem to be okay with that.
Anecdote:
You mentioned "there is always an exception". I had a science teacher in the 7th grade that taught us that there is ALWAYS an exception--he was very adamant about it. On our next test there was a question that said something like "all animals are part of a food chain". I remembered his rule and marked it as false. I got the answer wrong so I complained to him about it and reminded him of his rule. His comment was: "That �s the exception".
Douglas |
2 Mar 2011
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MarionG
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Thank you all, it is a lot clearer now. Minka, I like your approach, even the �rule � is easy to remember: If you offer or request something, we use �some �, actually the same as what zora said, very helpful.
douglas, I think i like that teacher! :) |
2 Mar 2011
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blunderbuster
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Using "some" in questions is a light kind of extortion ;o) You expect (or reckon with) a "yes".
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2 Mar 2011
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