Some & Any The words some and any are used for countable and uncountable nouns.

In general, we could say that some means a few / a little and any means none in negative clauses or a few / a little in questions. Positive Clauses: we usually use, some. I have bought some bread. I have bought some apples.

Negative Clauses: we usually use, any. I have not bought any bread. Questions: we usually use, any. Have you bought any bread? Have you bought any apples? I have not bought any apples.

**NOTE** Compound words with some and any Some and any can also be part of compound words such as: something/anything someone/anyone somewhere/anywhere

Compound words can stand on their own, meanwhile some & any must be used with a noun. If you are not sure whether to use some or something for example, check if there is a noun in the sentence that you can place after some. Ex) I do not have to buy bread. Rachel has already bought some. (bread) EXCEPTIONS Positive Clauses with Any We usually use some in positive clauses. But after never, without, hardly, we use any. Example ) We never go anywhere. She did her homework without any help. Theres hardly anyone here. Also in if clauses, we usually use any. Example) If there is anything to do, just call me. Questions with Some We usually use any in questions. But if we expect or want the other to answer yes, we use some. Example) Have you got any brothers and sisters? some people have brothers or sisters, others don't - we cannot expect the answer to be yes Would you like some biscuits? we offer something and want to encourage the other to say yes

A little/ A few Again, the expressions a little and a few mean some. If a noun is in singular, we use little (ex: a little money) *uncountable If a noun is in plural, we use a few (ex: a few friends) *countable Countable / Uncountable Nouns In connection with a little / a few people often speak of countable and uncountable nouns Countable nouns have a singular and a plural form. In plural, these nouns can be used with a number (that's why they are called 'countable nouns'). Countable nouns take a few. Example: 4 friends a few friends Uncountable nouns can only be used in singular. These nouns cannot be used with a number (that's why they are called 'uncountable nouns'). Uncountable nouns take a little. Example: 3 money a little money Note: Of course you can count money but then you would name the currency and say that you have got 3 euro (but not 3 money) A Little / A few or Little / Few It's a difference if you use a little / a few or little / few. Without the article, the words have a limiting or negative meaning. a little = some little = hardly any Example: I need a little money. - I need some money. I need little money. - I need hardly any money. a few = some few = hardly any Example: A few friends visited me. - Some friends visited me. Few friends visited me. - Hardly any friends visited me. Without the article, little / few sound rather formal. That's why we don't use them very often in everyday English. A negative sentence with much / many is more common here.

Example:

I need little money. = I do not need much money. Few friends visited me. = Not many friends visited me.

Much / Many The words much and many mean a lot of If a noun is in singular, we use much ex) much money* uncountable If a noun is in plural, we use many ex) many friends* countable Use of much / many In everyday English, we normally use much / many only in questions and negative clauses. Example: How much money have you got? Carla does not have many friends. In positive clauses with so, as or too, we also use much / many. Example: Carla has so many friends. She has as many friends as Sue. Kevin has too much money. In all other positive clauses, however, we prefer expressions like a lot of / lots of. Example: Carla has a lot of / lots of friends. Kevin has a lot of / lots of money. In formal texts, however, much / many are also common in positive clauses. This you will notice for example when you read English news. Countable / Uncountable Nouns In connection with much / many people often speak of countable nouns and uncountable nouns. Countable nouns have a singular and a plural form. In plural, these nouns can be used with a number (that's why they are called 'countable nouns'). Countable nouns take many. Example: 100 friends many friends Uncountable nouns can only be used in singular. These nouns cannot be used with a number (that's why they are called 'uncountable nouns'). Uncountable nouns take much. Example: 100 money much money Note: Of course you can count money but then you would name the currency and say that you have got 5 euro (but not 5 money).