Anything and Nothing
2020-11-28
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Today, we answer a question from Adriana in Uruguay.
2"Hi, I would like to know tips on how to choose affirmative or negative sentences while using 'nothing,' 'no one' or 'nobody,' or 'anything,' 'anyone' or 'anybody.' ...
3I sometimes make mistakes with this issue.
4 And thus, the sentence can be confusing for the listener.
5 Would you mind clarifying it? Thank you."
6Dear Adriana,
7Thank you for writing to us.
8There is a general Standard English grammar rule in that you can only have one negative in a sentence.*
9However, local speech around the country does not always observe that rule.
10With that in mind, we see that "anything" is a word English speakers use to express "a thing of any kind" in a question or a negative statement.
11Here are examples of both:
12Do they have anything to eat?
13They do not have anything to eat.
14Remember, the negative statement can only have one negative, and, here, it is the word "not."
15This works the same way with the other words you asked about, "anyone" and "anybody."
16For example,
17Has anyone come to pick up the mail today?
18I have not seen anyone this morning.
19The negative answer uses "not" and "anyone."
20You can also add "never" to make a negative statement, as in:
21They never found anybody to do that job.
22Now, let us look at the negative forms, "nothing," "nobody" and "no one."
23We use these to talk about an absence or lack of a thing or a person.
24The verb form that appears with these words is always singular because you cannot have more than one of nothing!
25Starting with "nothing," you can apply our rule again to create a statement with only one negative.
26Here is how we can use anything and nothing together.
27Is anything happening at your school today?
28There is nothing happening at school. Today is a holiday.
29We can use "nobody" in the same way: in answer to a question that uses "anybody."
30Did anybody help you write the letter?
31Nobody helped me. I did it all by myself.
32Here are two simple rules:
33Use "anything" and other words with "any" in questions and statements that include "not" or "no."
34Use "nothing" and the like in statements where there is no other negative word.
35I hope that helps to answer your question, Adriana.
36And that's Ask a Teacher.
37What question do you have about American English?
38Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
39I'm Jill Robbins.
1Today, we answer a question from Adriana in Uruguay. 2Question: 3"Hi, I would like to know tips on how to choose affirmative or negative sentences while using 'nothing,' 'no one' or 'nobody,' or 'anything,' 'anyone' or 'anybody.' ... I sometimes make mistakes with this issue. And thus, the sentence can be confusing for the listener. Would you mind clarifying it? Thank you." 4Adriana, Uruguay. 5Answer: 6Dear Adriana, 7Thank you for writing to us. There is a general Standard English grammar rule in that you can only have one negative in a sentence.* However, local speech around the country does not always observe that rule. 8Anything, anyone, anybody 9With that in mind, we see that "anything" is a word English speakers use to express "a thing of any kind" in a question or a negative statement. Here are examples of both: 10Do they have anything to eat? 11They do not have anything to eat. 12Remember, the negative statement can only have one negative, and, here, it is the word "not." This works the same way with the other words you asked about, "anyone" and "anybody." For example, 13Has anyone come to pick up the mail today? 14I have not seen anyone this morning. 15The negative answer uses "not" and "anyone." You can also add "never" to make a negative statement, as in: 16They never found anybody to do that job. 17Nothing, no one and nobody 18Now, let us look at the negative forms, "nothing," "nobody" and "no one." We use these to talk about an absence or lack of a thing or a person. The verb form that appears with these words is always singular because you cannot have more than one of nothing! Starting with "nothing," you can apply our rule again to create a statement with only one negative. Here is how we can use anything and nothing together. 19Is anything happening at your school today? 20There is nothing happening at school. Today is a holiday. 21We can use "nobody" in the same way: in answer to a question that uses "anybody." 22Did anybody help you write the letter? 23Nobody helped me. I did it all by myself. 24Rules to remember 25Here are two simple rules: 26Use anything and other words with any in questions and statements that include not or no. 27Use nothing and the like in statements where there is no other negative word. 28I hope that helps to answer your question, Adriana. 29And that's Ask a Teacher. 30What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com 31I'm Jill Robbins. 32Jill Robbins wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 33*Technically, the rule is that there can only be one negative in a clause. A clause is a part of a sentence with its own subject and verb. Some sentences have only one clause. Example: "No one was home." But many sentences have two or more clauses. Example: "No one was home and the house key was not under the plant." 34_________________________________________________________________ 35Words in This Story 36affirmative - adj. saying or showing that the answer is "yes" rather than "no" 37negative - adj. expressing denial or refusal; an answer of "no" 38Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.