ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: Problem with There's, there aren't + some/any

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:07:33 GMT

Ok the xplanation is this: you use any as a way to emphasize negation in the sentence. There aren't any chairs = there aren't NOT AT ALL chairs. I hope it will help you.

Re: Problem with There's, there aren't + some/any

CalifJim — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:13:55 GMT

Hector9
The problem comes when my book says that sometimes I have to add also Some and Any in some sentences and I don't know why and in which cases I must add them.

You need to give us the examples and tell us what you would add, and we'll help. In the meantime, ...

Add any when the sentence is negative. Add any when the sentence is interrogative. But, less often, interrogatives also take some. If there is neither a negation nor an interrogation, you cannot use any. Those that are crossed out are either not used or have special, non-typical uses.

Countable singulars.

There is a chair in the kitchen. ~~There is some chair in the kitchen.~~ ~~There is any chair in the kitchen.~~

~~There isn't a chair in the kitchen.~~ ~~There isn't any chair in the kitchen~~ ~~There isn't some chair in the kitchen.~~

Is there a chair in the kitchen? ~~Is there any chair in the kitchen?~~ ~~Is there some chair in the kitchen?~~

Isn't there a chair in the kitchen? ~~Isn't there any chair in the kitchen?~~ ~~Isn't there some chair in the kitchen?~~

__________

Countable plurals.

There are chairs in the kitchen. There are some chairs in the kitchen. ~~There are any chairs in the kitchen.~~

~~There aren't chairs in the kitchen.~~ There aren't any chairs in the kitchen. ~~There aren't some chairs in the kitchen.~~

Are there chairs in the kitchen? Are there any chairs in the kitchen? Are there some chairs in the kitchen?

Aren't there chairs in the kitchen? Aren't there any chairs in the kitchen? Aren't there some chairs in the kitchen?

__________

Uncountables. Note the similarity of the patterns below with the patterns for countable plurals above.

There is milk in the glass. There is some milk in the glass. ~~There is any milk in the glass.~~

~~There isn't milk in the glass.~~ There isn't any milk in the glass. ~~There isn't some milk in the glass.~~

Is there milk in the glass? Is there any milk in the glass? Is there some milk in the glass?

Isn't there milk in the glass? Isn't there any milk in the glass? Isn't there some milk in the glass?

_________

When the question is about a countable singular, the negative answer is typically in the plural:

Is there a chair in the kitchen? Yes, there is a chair in the kitchen.

Is there a chair in the kitchen? No, there aren't any chairs in the kitchen.

________

I have no idea if that helps you, but maybe it will.

Re: Problem with There's, there aren't + some/any

Avangi — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:22:26 GMT

Hi Youssef,

If a couple of guests drop in at your house unexpectedly, and you're looking for a snack for them, and it's not a formal dinner where everything is available for whomever wants it, I say it's perfectly natural to omit the "some" and the "any" - or to put them in, as your heart desires:

Would anyone care for cake with his ice cream? That is, they've already decided on the ice cream. Cake is available but it's not yet being served.

Do you want bread with your soup?

Best wishes, - A.

Re: Problem with There's, there aren't + some/any

Anonymous — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:35:21 GMT

I come across this problem too while teaching that structure in the classroom for biginners. But at the end I think that the rule is as follows: any is used for negative plural , and plural interrogative

while some is used for plural affirmative form and it is used in case of uncountables.ok here are some eg.

*are there any curtains in the living room?

*yes, there are some.

*no, there aren't any.

for uncountables: for eg.

* would like some tea? *there is some bread = we cannot say there is a bread. that is why it is used even with uncountables .

By YOUSSEF BEN.

Re: Problem with There's, there aren't + some/any

Avangi — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:46:08 GMT

Hi Hector,

I'm afraid I'm not being very much help here. The point I wish to make is that all the sentences you reject for not having "some" or "any" would be perfectly natural if the right context had been set up in advance.

Somebody opens the door to a dark room and looks inside. He can't see anything. He turns on the light. "Hey, there are chairs in here!" This is 100% natural and correct.

Two friends are hiking and come to a sign: DANGER - ABANDONED MINE. One of them goes in. After a while he comes out and says to his friend, "There's gold in that mine!" 100% natural.

Re your last sentence, a native speaker would say, "There's no water in the kitchen."

Kind regards, - A.

Re: Problem with There's, there aren't + some/any

Hector9 — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 15:05:34 GMT

Thank you for your answer.

So, If I want to say that are chairs in here, What must I use?

There are chairs in here. (I think this is wrong)

There are some chairs in here. (I think this is the great sentence)

With gold:

There's some gold in that mine. (I think this is the great sentence)

There's gold in that mine (I think this is wrong)

Am I OK? In accord what you said, I think I'm ok now, but I really don't know.

In other words, with uncountable nouns, Must I use them with 'some and 'any' in negative and positive sentences?

For example:

I have some new information for you or I have new information for you?

There's not any water at the kitchen or There's not water at the kitchen?

Thanks a lot

Re: Problem with There's, there aren't + some/any

Avangi — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:58:15 GMT

Why There aren't any chairs in the bedroom and not "There aren't chairs in the bedroom"??

The same case here, why: There's some information there and not "There's information here"??

_________________________________________________________________________________

My mother would have said, "Just for the sake of euphony."

IMHO there's nothing wrong with "There's information here," or "There aren't chairs in the bedroom." But they don't ring true to the native ear. Perhaps too little information. In the right context they might sound better. Standing alone, they sound bare.

Are there chairs? (bare) Are there chairs for the guests? (okay)

There's information. (bare) There's information on the table. (okay)

There's gold. There's gold in them thar hills!

Do you have chairs in the bathroom???

There normally aren't chairs in an elevator.

I think when it's a simple yes-or-no issue it's fine to omit the "helpers." Where we're likely to be concerned with the amount or number (even though it's not stated) we'd miss them if they were omitted.

Problem with There's, there aren't + some/any

Hector9 — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:10:35 GMT

First of all, thanks everyone who is seeing my topic to help me

Well, I know that There's is used to refer that something exists, for singular and There are is for plural.

Some examples:

There's a book here.

There are animals in the zoo

The problem comes when my book says that sometimes I have to add also Some and Any in some sentences and I don't know why and in which cases I must add them.

Explanation of my book

---------------------------------------------------------

There is/isn't There are/aren't

The negative form of there is = there isn't

There isn't a chat in here

With uncountable nouns, we use there isn't any...

There isn't any furniture in the bedroom.

With plural nouns we use there aren't any... (the negative form of there are)

There aren't any chairs in the bedroom

OK, good explanation haha

Why There aren't any chairs in the bedroom and not "There aren't chairs in the bedroom"??

The same case here, why: There's some information there and not "There's information here"??

Thanks in advance, I see it plenty of times and I cannot understand it, the reason of that and in which cases I must use them.

Thank you and sorry for my English, I'm trying to improve it

PD: If you can leave some exercises I will be glad with you