Some and any

  • A1 · Beginner
  • Grammar lesson
  • 60 min

some and any with plural and uncountable nouns: There's some milk, but there aren't any eggs. Do we have any rice? The student reads two roommates' dinner chat, practices some, any, a and an, and plays a dish-guessing game with Is there any…? and Are there any…?

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some breadany milkIs there any…?

What's in the lesson

  1. 1Warm-up
  2. 2In this lesson
  3. 3Reading: what's for dinner?Reading comprehension
  4. 4What does it mean?Grammar exercise
  5. 5Find some and anyGrammar exercise
  6. 6some and anyGrammar rule
  7. 7some, any, a or an?Grammar exercise
  8. 8The picnicGrammar exercise
  9. 9Questions and answersGrammar exercise
  10. 10Questions for your teacherGrammar exercise
  11. 11Say it naturallySpeaking practice
  12. 12Guess the dishSpeaking practice
  13. 13About youGrammar exercise
  14. 14Wrap-up

Homework

  1. 1Homework: the office kitchenGrammar exercise
  2. 2Homework: find the mistakeGrammar exercise
  3. 3Homework: which is right?Grammar exercise
  4. 4Homework: a shopping messageDiscussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

  1. Which foods do you buy every week?
  2. Do you cook with rice or pasta?
  3. What do you eat on a busy evening?

Grammar rule

some and any

plural nouns (carrots, plates)uncountable nouns (honey, salt, jam)
PositiveThere are some carrots in the bag. We have some plates.There's some honey in the jar.
NegativeThere aren't any napkins. We don't have any plates.There isn't any salt.
QuestionAre there any carrots? Do you have any napkins?Is there any jam?
  • some in positive sentences; any after not and in questions.
  • Short answers: Are there any…? — Yes, there are. / No, there aren't. · Is there any…? — Yes, there is. / No, there isn't.
  • some and any can stand alone in an answer: Yes, we have some. No, there aren't any.

Uncountable nouns

water, milk, rice, bread, cheese, pasta, coffee, tea, money, music: no a or an, and no -s. some bread (not a bread, not some breads). One thing we can count takes a or an: an egg, a lemon. Two or more: some eggs, some lemons.

Watch out

  • not + any: We don't have any eggs. (not We don't have some eggs)
  • is or are? any + an uncountable noun: Is there any milk? any + a plural: Are there any eggs? (not Is there any eggs?)
  • In offers, we use some: Would you like some cake?
In speech, some before a noun is short and weak: "sum" (some MILK). any sounds like "EN-ee", not "AN-ee".

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