Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[teufelchen53]

Hallo people,

I don't understand the difference between

some and any

When do I use someone or anyone?

Love
teufelchen53
_________________
Live and let live.

[bud]

Use "someone" (somebody) to refer to a single person when they can't be identified or it is unimportant to identify them.

Ex.:
Someone called, but they hung up before I could answer the phone.
I wish someone would return my call.
He wanted that last piece of pie, but someone already ate it.

Use "anyone" (anybody) in questions and negative statements. It's the same idea as someone, but could apply to more than one person or nobody. In questions, you usally don't know if it is one person or more. In negative statements, it would imply nobody.

Ex.:
Did anyone see my car keys?
Doesn't anyone understand what I said?
There wasn't anyone home when she stopped by.
John hasn't replied to anyone all week.

"Some" and "any" follow a similar logic.

Note: There is at least one other difference, but I can't explain it as clearly. Sometimes, you use "anyone" to mean "any and all," where "someone" would still imply "one unidentified person."

Ex.:
Anyone can e-mail me if they want a copy of the document. (This means that whoever e-mails me, one person or many people, each will receive a copy of the document.)
Someone can e-mail me if you (plural "you") want a copy of the document. (This implies that "you" will receive one copy if a representative of the group e-mails me.)

Hope that helps. Good luck.

[ChiChih]

Can you tell the difference between sometime and some time?
Can you tell the difference between setup and set up?

You will find this page very useful.

"Common Errors in English"
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html


List of errors:
* AM/PM * abject * about * absorbtion * accede/exceed * accent marks * access * accessory * accept/except * accidently * acronyms and apostrophes * actual fact/actually * adapt/adopt * adultry * advance/advanced * adverse/averse * advice/advise * adviser/advisor * affect/effect * agreeance/agreement * ahold/hold * ain't * altogether/ all together * all * all goes well/augurs well * alliterate/illiterate * alls * allude/elude * allude/refer * allusion/illusion * alot * almost * already/all ready * alright * altar/alter * alterior * alternate/alternative * alumnus/alumni * amature * ambiguous/ambivalent * ambivalent/indifferent * American * amoral/immoral * amount/number * an historic * and also * anecdote/antidote * angel/angle * anxious/eager * any more * anytime * anyways * apart/a part * apostrophes * as follow * as per * aspect/respect * appraise/apprise * apropos/appropriate * artic * as far as * as time progressed * assure/ensure/insure * asterick * as of yet * ATM machine * athlete * athiest * aural/oral * avocation/vocation * awhile/a while * ax * axel/axle * backslash/slash * backward/backwards * barb wire, bob wire * bare/bear * basicly * bazaar/bizarre * begs the question * behaviors * bemuse * beside/besides * better * between * between you and I * beyond the pail * bias/biased * biweekly/semiweekly * blatant * bonafied * born out of * borrow/loan * both/each * boughten * bourgeois * bouyant * brand names * brang, brung * breath/breathe * bring/take * beaurocracy * build off of * bumrush * butt naked * by/'bye/buy * cache/cachet * call the question * callous/callused * calm, cool, and collective * Calvary/cavalry * cannot/can not * canon/cannon * capital/capitol * caramel/carmel * carat/caret/carrot/karat * caring * Catch 22 * CD-ROM disk * ceasar * celibate/chaste * celtic * cement/concrete * center around * cents * chai tea * chaise longue * chemicals * Chicano/Latino/Hispanic * chuck/chunk * Church * cite/site/sight * cleanup/clean up * clich�/clich�d * click/clique * close/clothes * close proximity * coarse/course * collaborate/corroborate * Colombia/Columbia * colons/semicolons * commas * compare and contrast * compare to/compare with * complement/compliment * complement/complimentary * comprised of * concensus * concerted effort * conflicted/conflicting feelings * confusionism * congradulations * continual/continuous * contrasts/contrasts with * conversate * core/corps/corpse * could care less * could of/should of/would of * council/counsel/consul * couple/couple of * credible/credulous * crescendo/climax * criteria/criterion * criticism * critique/criticize * crucifiction * currant/current * cut and dry * cut and paste/copy and paste * damped/dampened * data * decimate * deep-seeded * definate * defuse/diffuse * degrade/denigrate/downgrade * deja vu * democrat/democratic * depends * depreciate/deprecate * desert/dessert * device/devise * dialogue/discuss * dieties * differ/vary * different than * dilemma/difficulty * dire straights * disburse/disperse * disc/disk * discreet/discrete * discussed/disgust * disinterested/uninterested * disrespect * doctorial/doctoral * dolly/handcart * dominate/dominant * done/did * double negatives * doubt that/doubt whether/doubt if * doubtlessly/doubtless * dove/dived * downfall/drawback * drank/drunk * drastic/dramatic * drier/dryer * dribble/drivel * drive/disk * drug/dragged * dual/duel * duck tape * due to the fact that * dyeing/dying * e.g./i.e. * each * earth, moon * ecology/environment * ecstatic * ect. * -ed/-t * -ed/-ing * ei/ie * either * either are/either is * eighteen hundreds/nineteenth century * electrocute * elicit/illicit * ellipses * embaress * emergent/emergency * emigrate/immigrate * eminent/imminent/immanent * empathy/sympathy * emphasize on * end result * enormity/enormousness * enquire/inquire * ensure/insure * enthuse * envelop/envelope * envious/jealous * enviroment * epigram/epigraph/epitaph/epithet * epitomy * ethnic * every * everyday * everytime * evidence to * exact same * exalt/exult * excape/escape * exceptional/exceptionable * exhileration * exponential * expresso * expresses that/says that * factoid * fair/fare * farther/further * fastly * fatal/fateful * faze/phase * fearful/fearsome * febuary * 50's * finalize * firey * first annual * fiscal/physical * fit the bill * flammable/inflammable * flaunt/flout * flesh out/flush out * floppy disk/hard disk * flounder/founder * foot/feet * footnotes/endnotes * for/fore/four * for all intensive purposes * for one/for one thing * for sale/on sale * forbidding/foreboding/formidable * forceful/forcible/forced * forego/forgo * foresee/forsee * formally/formerly * forward * fortuitous/fortunate * foul/fowl * Frankenstein * frankly * French dip with au jus * from . . . to * from the beginning of time * fulsome * -fuls/-ful * gaff/gaffe * gamut/gauntlet * gaurd * gender * Ghandi * gibe/jibe/jive * gig/jig * gild/guild * god * goes * gone/went * good/well * got/gotten * government * graduate * grammer * gratis/gratuitous * greatful * grevious * grisly/grizzly * group (singular vs. plural) * ground zero * grow * gyp * had ought * hairbrained * hangar/hanger * hanged/hung * hanging indents * hardly * hardly never * hardy/hearty * HIV virus * he don't * heading/bound * hear/here * hearing-impaired * heighth * help the problem * hero/protagonist * heroin/heroine * highly looked upon/highly regarded * him, her/he, she * hippie/hippy * hisself * historic/historical * an historic * hoi polloi * hold your peace/say your piece * holocaust * homophobic * home page * hone in * hors d'oeuvres * hyphenation * hyphens & dashes * hypocritical * hysterical/hilarious * I me myself * -ic * idea/ideal * if/whether * if I was/if I were * ignorant * immaculate conception/virgin birth * impact * impertinent/irrelevant * imply/infer * infact * infamous/notorious * infinite * inflammable * in regards to * in the fact that * incent, incentivize * incredible * incidences/incidents/instances * indepth * Indian/Native American * individual * input * install/instill * instances/instants * intense/intensive * intensifiers * interment/internment * Internet/intranet * interface * interpretate * into/in to * ironically * irregardless * is, is * islams * Isreal * issues * itch/scratch * it's/its * jerry-built/jury-rigged * Jew/Jewish * jewelry * John Henry * judgement * kick-start * koala bear * laissez-faire * large * late/former * later/latter * lay/lie * leach/leech * lead/led * leave/let * legend/myth * lense * less/fewer * liable, libel * libary * light-year * lighted/lit * like * like/as if * like for * likker * listserv * "lite" spelling * literally * lived * loose/lose * lustful/lusty * mantle/mantel * marital/martial * marshall * marshmellow * mass * masseuse/masseur * mauve * may/might * maybe/may be * medal/metal/meddle/mettle * media * Medieval Ages * mediocre * medium/median * memorium * mic * might could * mischievious * misnomer * moral/morale * more importantly * moreso * most always * motion/move * Mount Fujiyama * much differently * muchly * music/singing * mute point * myriad of * myself * nauseated/nauseous * neice * Nevada * next store * nieve * no sooner when * nonplussed * noone * not all that * not hardly * notorious * nuclear * number of verb * numbers * nuptual * of * of ___'s * offense * often * OK * old fashion * old-timer's disease * on accident * once and a while * one of the (singular) * one-dimensional * one in the same * one of the only * only * onto/on to * oppress/repress * orders of magnitude * ordinance/ordnance * Oregon * organic * oriental * orientate * ostensively * over-exaggerated * oversee/overlook * pair (number) * palate/palette/pallet * parallel * parallelled/paralleled * parallelism in a series * paralyzation * parameters/perimeters * parentheses * parliment * passed/past * past time * passive voice * pawn off/palm off * peace/piece * peak/peek/pique * peasant/pheasant * penultimate/next to last * peoples * per * percent decrease * pernickety/persnickety * perogative/prerogative * perse * persecute/prosecute * personal/personnel * personality * perspective/prospective * peruse * phenomena/phenomenon * Philippines/Filipinos * physical * picaresque/picturesque * picture * PIN number * playwrite * plead innocent * please RSVP * plug-in * podium/lectern * pole/poll * point being is that * point in time * pompom/pompon * populace/populous * pore/pour * possessed of, by, with * practice/practise * practicle * pray/prey * precede/proceed * precedence/precedents * precipitate/precipitous * predominant/predominate * predominately * preemptory * preferably * prejudice/prejudiced * premier/premiere * premise/premises * prepone * prepositions (repeated) * prepositions (wrong) * prescribe/proscribe * presently * pretty * primer * principal/principle * prioritize * priority * proactive * probably * prone * pronounciation * prophecy/prophesy * prostate/prostrate * protray * proved/proven * purposely/purposefully * Q/G * quantum leap * queue * quiet/quite * quote * quotation marks * racism * rack/wrack * ran/run * rapport * ratio * rationale/rationalization * ravaging/ravishing/ravenous * recreate * reactionary/reactive * real/really * realtor * reason because * rebelling/revolting * rebut/refute * recent/resent * redundancies * reeking havoc * regard/regards * regretfully/regrettably * reign/rein * religion * religion believes * reluctant/reticent * remuneration/renumeration * reoccurring * repel/repulse * resister/resistor * retch/wretch * reticent/hesitant * return back * revelant * revue/review * right of passage * Rio Grande River * risky/risqu� * road to hoe * rob/steal * role/roll * root/rout/route * sacred/scared * sacreligious * safety deposit box * sail/sale/sell * salsa sauce * same difference * sarcastic/ironic * satellite * say/tell * schizophrenic * sci-fi * sea change * seam/seem * second of all * seen/saw * select/selected * self-worth * sense/since * sensual/sensuous * sentence fragments * service/serve * set/sit * setup/set up * shall/will * sherbert * Sierra Nevada Mountains * silicon/silicone * simplistic * single quotes * slight of hand * sluff off * snuck * so/very * so fun * social/societal * sojourn/journey * sometime/some time * somewhat of a * sooner * soup du jour of the day * sour grapes * spaded/spayed * stalactites/stalagmites * stationary/stationery * stereo * stomp * straightjacket * straight-laced * substance-free * substitute with * suffer with * suit/suite * summary/summery * supercede * supposably, supposingly * suppose to * surfing the Internet * take a different tact * taken back/taken aback * taught/taut * taunt/taut/tout * tenant/tenet * tender hooks * tentative * than/then * that/which * that kind * theirselves * them * they're/their/there * therefor/therefore * there's * these are them * these kind * these ones * they/their (singular) * think on * though/thought/through * throne/thrown * thusly * time period * times smaller * to/too/two * to home * today's modern society * tolled/told * tongue and cheek * toward/towards * track home * tradegy * troop/troupe * try and * UFO * unconscience * University of Indiana * unrest * upmost * use to * vague reference * various * vary/very * veil of tears * verb tense * verbage * verses/versus * very unique * vicious/viscous circle/cycle * video * vinegarette * viola/voila * vitae * volumptuous * warrantee/warranty * wary/weary/leery * wash * way * ways * weather/wether/whether * weather forecast calls for * Wensday * went/gone * were/where * wet your appetite * what * wheat * whereabouts are * where it's at * whether/whether or not * whilst/while * whimp * whisky/whiskey * -wise * who/whom * who's/whose * a whole 'nother * woman/women * World Wide Web * worse comes to worse * wreckless * writting * Xmas/Christmas * ya'll * ye * yea/yeah/yay * yoke/yolk * your/you * your/you're * you've got another thing coming *

[url][/url]

[Casio]

Bud is correct. Let me add a bit more. Here's a simple rule of thumb:

"Anyone" means the person in question does not belong to a known group. That is, they don't exist to you, yet. That's why it's used with negatives and questions:

Is anyone home? (I don't know if people exist in the house)
Hasn't anyone fed my dog? (No one has fed the dog?)

"Someone" means the person belongs to a known group. That is, they exist to you.

Is someone home? (Is John or Mary in the house?)
Has someone has fed the dog? (Has John or Mary fed the dog?)

If I say, "Someone, please, email me" it means that the person in question belongs to a group I know, like my friends, or, for example "I gotta call someone to fix my computer", wherein 'someone' refers to a person in a known group: people who fix computers. I don't know the computer person personally, but I do know that s/he belongs to a specific group, called people who fix computers.

If I say, "Anyone, please, email me" it means that the person in question belongs to any group. The group may be my friends or people I don't know. "All" people, please, email you.

In short, "anyone" means "all people in all groups", whereas "someone" means only people in certain, specific groups.

All the best,

Casio

[teufelchen53]

@ bud and casio

Thank you very much for help.

Love
teufelchen53
_________________
Live and let live.

[Corey]

Good explainations.
_________________
Niagara Summer Programs