Something, anything, nothing, etc.

Something, anything, nothing, etc.

Exercise 1

Choose the correct form (something, anything, nothing, etc.) to complete the dialogues below.

1 I can’t find my keys somewhereanywherenowhere.

2 ‘What did you have to drink?’ ‘I didn’t drink anythingnothingsomething; only water.’

3 SomebodyAnybodyEverybody was at the party; all our friends and family were there.

4 ‘Did you see anybodynobodysomebody interesting at the party?’ ‘NobodyEverybodyAnybody. Only boring people.’

5 AnybodyNobodySomebody robbed a bank yesterday. They took a lot of money.

6 The police think the robber is hiding somewhereeverywhereanywhere in the neighbourhood.

7 ‘Have you eaten nothingsomethinganything?’ ‘NothingAnythingEverything. I’m very hungry.’

8 Can I stay here tonight? I have somewherenowhereanywhere to go.’

9 I think anythingsomethingeverything bad has happened, because there are police officers everywhereanywherenowhere.

10 EverythingSomethingAnything is big in New York; the streets, the buildings, the cars, even the hamburgers.

 Loading...

 

Something, anything, nothing, etc. – Grammar chart

Download full-size image from Pinterest

Some- in affirmative sentences

We usually use something, somebody/someone, somewhere in affirmative sentences.

• Look! There’s something under that chair.
• Somebody called you yesterday.

Any- in negative and interrogative sentences

We use anything, anybody/anyone, anywhere in negative sentences and questions.

• There isn’t anybody in the house.
• Is there anybody here?

But we often use something, somebody/someone, somewhere in requests and in offers, i.e. when we ask for something or offer something to someone.

• Can somebody help me?
• Would you like something to eat?

No- with affirmative verbs

We use nobody/no one, nothing, nowhere in sentences with an affirmative verb.

• The sun was in my eyes, and I couldn’t see nobody.
• The sun was in my eyes, and I could see nobody.
• ‘Where have you been?’ ‘Nowhere.’

Every- means ‘all’

We use everybody/everyone, everything, everywhere when we mean ‘all the people’, ‘all the things’ or ‘(in) all the places’.

• ‘Everybody in my class has passed the exam.’
• ‘From the top of the mountain, we could see everything.’
• ‘There were insects everywhere.’

Singular verbs

We use singular verbs with all these words.

• Everything is expensive nowadays.
• Everyone was tired.
• Has anyone seen my glasses?

Something, anyone, nowhere, etc. + adjective

We can use an adjective (nice, wrong, etc.) after something, anything, etc.

• Can’t we go somewhere quiet?
• I didn’t do anything wrong.

Something, anyone, nowhere, etc. + to infinitive

We can use to + infinitive after something, anything, etc.

• We didn’t have anywhere to go. 
• I need something to do.  I’m bored. 

We are working on this!

We're developing a NEW LEARNING PLATFORM with a subscription plan that includes additional features at an affordable price. One of those features will be PDF downloads.

Learn more!

Our Books

Test-English is delighted to announce our new pdf books.

Learn more!