Something, nobody, anywhere

  • A2 · Elementary
  • Grammar lesson
  • 60 min
  • something, anybody, nowhere

some-, any-, no- and every- with -body, -thing and -where: Nobody called, and there was nothing on TV. I didn't go anywhere. From a friend's very quiet weekend to a guessing game: "I'm thinking of somewhere…"

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somethingnobodyanywhereeveryone

What's in the lesson

  1. 1Warm-up
  2. 2In this lesson
  3. 3Reading: a very quiet weekendReading comprehension
  4. 4What does it mean?Grammar exercise
  5. 5Find the wordsGrammar exercise
  6. 6something, anybody, nowhere, everythingGrammar rule
  7. 7Which word?Grammar exercise
  8. 8Jalen's weekendGrammar exercise
  9. 9Find the mistakeGrammar exercise
  10. 10Questions for your teacherGrammar exercise
  11. 11Say it naturallySpeaking practice
  12. 12I'm thinking of…Speaking practice
  13. 13About youGrammar exercise
  14. 14Wrap-up

Homework

  1. 1Homework: the lost suitcaseGrammar exercise
  2. 2Homework: which word?Grammar exercise
  3. 3Homework: build the sentencesGrammar exercise
  4. 4Homework: my weekendDiscussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

  1. Did you go anywhere interesting last weekend?
  2. Do you do anything special every Sunday?
  3. Do you ever stay home all weekend and do nothing? Do you like it?

Grammar rule

something, anybody, nowhere, everything

peoplethingsplacesUse it…
some-somebody, someonesomethingsomewherein positive sentences, offers and requests
any-anybody, anyoneanythinganywherein questions, and after not (n't) or never
no-nobody, no onenothingnowherewith a positive verb: no- = not any-
every-everybody, everyoneeverythingeverywherefor all the people, things or places
  • Somebody left a bag on the bus. · Is there anything for dessert? · We didn't go anywhere in July. · There was nowhere to park. · Everyone likes our mail carrier.
  • -body and -one mean the same: somebody = someone, everybody = everyone. no one is two words.
  • As the subject, they take a singular verb: Everybody knows her. Everything was ready. (not Everybody know, Everything were)
  • An adjective goes after the word: something sweet, somewhere quiet, nothing new (not sweet something).
  • One negative is enough (lesson 3): I didn't see anybody. = I saw nobody. (not I didn't see nobody)
Offers and requests usually take some-, because we expect "yes": Would you like something to drink? Can somebody help me?
In a positive sentence, any- means "it doesn't matter which": Take anything: it's all free! Here, we use any- for questions and negatives.

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