Some and any

Some and any mean either ‘a certain quantity’ or ‘a certain quality’. Used in the first meaning they combine with uncountable nouns and plural forms of countable nouns:

He gave you some money, didn't he?; Have you any sugar?; Are there any stamps in that drawer?; Please, buy me some stamps.

In the second meaning they may also be used with countable nouns in the singular:

Some man wants to speak to you; Take any book you like.

Some is mainly used in affirmative sentences. When used before numerals and the postdeterminer few it means ‘about’ or ‘approximately’:

It happened some twenty years ago; I waited some few minutes.

Sometimes, modifying predicatives, the stressed some acquires the meaning of ‘very good’ or ‘extraordinary’:

It’s 'some cake!; He’s 'some doctor!

Some can be used in interrogative sentences when the question is in fact an invitation or request:

Would you like some tea?

Some is also used in interrogative constructions when the answer 'Yes' is expected:

Didn’t he give you some money?

When any means ‘a certain quantity’ it is mainly used in interrogative and negative sentences:

Have we got any tea?; He didn't ask me any questions.

Any is regularly used in affirmative sentences in adverbial clauses of condition:

If you have any letters, post them now.

Any is also used with such words having negative meaning as ‘without, hardly, scarcely, seldom, fail, prevent’, etc:

They understood each other without any words.

There is hardly any place in this house where we can talk alone.

In most cases any, like some, is unstressed, however when any has the meaning ‘no matter which’ it bears the stress:

You will find me at my desk at 'any hour of the day.

NO

No combines with countable and uncountable nouns. It is used with verbs in the affirmative form to express negation. It is often an alternative to the negative form of the verb + any construction:

I have no apples. (= I haven’t any apples)

When no modifies predicatives it sometimes acquires the meaning ‘no good as ... ‘:

He is no pianist. (= He is no good as a pianist)

Every, each

They both mean ‘all’; but unlike all they imply a number of persons or things considered individually and not as a group. The main differences between every and each are as follows:

1. every has a generalizing meaning while each has an individualizing meaning:

Every boy in the class passed the examination. (= All the boys); Each boy may have three tries.

2. each refers to two or more persons whereas every is usually used with reference to more than two:

Two boys entered. Each boy was carrying a suitcase; There were five boys and every boy was carrying a suitcase.

3. every can function only as determiner whereas each can function as determiner and substitute.

Either, neither, much

Either means ‘any one of two persons or things’:

Which of the two books will you take? –I’ll take either, it does not matter which.

Either may also mean ‘each of two’:

There was an armchair at either end of the long table.

Neither means ‘not either’, i.e. we can use neither with an affirmative verb form or either with a negative verb form:

I can agree in neither case. (= I cannot agree in either case)

Neither is preferred at the beginning of a sentence:

Neither statement is true.

Much means ‘a large quantity of’ and is used only with uncountable nouns. Much changes for degrees of comparison. They are more and most:

There isn’t much food in the house; Some more coffee, please; I don’t have much news of him; Did you have much difficulty in finding the house?; Most work was done in his father’s office.

Much in the positive form is mainly used in negative and interrogative sentences. In purely affirmative sentences much in the positive form is usually replaced by a lot of, a great deal of, plenty of and the like:

I have a lot of bread, but I haven’t much butter.

In affirmative sentences much is often used with such adverbs as very, too, so:

You’ve given me too much sugar.

2.42 Predeterminers

These include the indefinite pronouns all, both and the noun half. All, both and half can occur before articles, possessives and demonstratives. The demonstrative such can also be used as a predeterminer before the indefinite article.