anything

/ˈeniθɪŋ/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈeniθɪŋ/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈe-nē-ˌthiŋ/ (ame, mw)

anything — pronoun

1. the form used in place of "something" when the sentence is a question, a negativ

1.代名詞A1
釋義

the form used in place of "something" when the sentence is a question, a negative, a conditional with if or whether, or comes after verbs like prevent, avoid, or ban.

例句

Is there anything in the fridge that Imani could eat for lunch?

questions: is there anything ...?

Lior opened the drawer but did not find anything useful inside.

negatives: not ... anything

同義詞
  • something

    used in positive statements; 'anything' replaces it in questions and negatives

  • aught

    very formal or literary; rarely used in modern speech

反義詞
  • nothing

    the opposite when the sentence is negative: 'not anything' equals 'nothing'

文法句型

in questions: is/are there anything ...?

in negatives: not ... anything

after if/whether

after verbs of preventing or avoiding (prevent, ban, avoid)

用法筆記

Only this sense pairs with questions, negatives, conditional clauses, or verbs of preventing or avoiding. Compare sense 2, where anything appears in plain positive statements to mean 'no matter which'.

常見錯誤

❌I bought anything for dinner.
✅I bought something for dinner.
💡in a plain positive statement use 'something'; 'anything' here belongs to questions, negatives, or conditionals.
❌Did you saw anything strange?
✅Did you see anything strange?
💡keep the base form of the verb after 'did'.

2. any thing, event, action, or situation at all, when the speaker does not care wh

2.代名詞A1
釋義

any thing, event, action, or situation at all, when the speaker does not care which one is chosen or wants to include the whole range of possibilities.

例句

Gita is so hungry he will eat anything in the kitchen tonight.

anything as 'no matter which thing'

Coach Diego promised Bao that anything is possible if he trains every morning.

anything as subject in a positive statement

同義詞
  • whatever

    stronger free-choice flavour; often introduces a clause: 'eat whatever you want'

  • everything

    covers the full set as a whole, while 'anything' picks one item from the open set

反義詞
  • nothing

    free-choice opposite: 'will eat anything' vs 'will eat nothing'

文法句型

anything + adjective (anything new, anything special)

anything + relative clause (anything that ...)

anything + to-infinitive (anything to read)

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense lives in positive statements and signals free choice (no matter which), whereas sense 1 only appears in questions, negatives, and conditionals. Often followed by a postmodifier — an adjective, a to-infinitive, or a relative clause.

常見錯誤

❌I want anything else to drink.
✅I want something else to drink.
💡when you have a specific (but unnamed) drink in mind, use 'something'; 'anything' opens the choice to every option.
❌She will eat anything food.
✅She will eat anything.
💡'anything' already stands for the noun; do not add 'food' or 'thing' after it.

anything — adverb