VOA慢速英语2020--Anything and Nothing

Today, we answer a question from Adriana in Uruguay.

Question:

"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 issue¹. And thus, the sentence can be confusing² for the listener³. Would you mind clarifying⁴ it? Thank you."

Adriana, Uruguay.

Answer:

Dear Adriana,

Thank 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.

Anything, anyone, anybody

With 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 statement⁵. Here are examples of both:

Do they have anything to eat?

They do not have anything to eat.

Remember, the negative statement can only have one negative, and, here, it is the word "not." This works⁶ the same way with the other words you asked about, "anyone" and "anybody." For example,

Has anyone come to pick up the mail today?

I have not seen anyone this morning.

The negative answer uses "not" and "anyone." You can also add "never" to make a negative statement, as in:

They never found anybody to do that job.

Nothing, no one and nobody

Now, 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 verb⁷ form that appears with these words is always singular⁸ 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.

Is anything happening at your school today?

There is nothing happening at school. Today is a holiday.

We can use "nobody" in the same way: in answer to a question that uses "anybody."

Did anybody help you write the letter?

Nobody helped me. I did it all by myself.

Rules to remember

Here are two simple rules:

Use "anything" and other words with "any" in questions and statements⁹ that include "not" or "no."

Use "nothing" and the like in statements where there is no other negative word.

I hope that helps to answer your question, Adriana.

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Words in This Story

affirmative – adj. saying or showing that the answer is "yes" rather than "no"

negative – adj. expressing denial or refusal; an answer of "no"

1 issue   

n.出版，发行，（报刊等）期、号，论点，问题，结果， （水，血等的）流出；vt.使流出，放出，发行（钞票等），发布（命令），出版（书等）发给；vi.发行，流出，造成...结果，进行辩护，传下

参考例句：

• I bought the book the day after its issue.这书出版后的第一天，我就去买了它。
• I'll support her down the line on that issue.在那个问题上我将全力支持她。

2 confusing   

adj.混乱的，令人困惑的

参考例句：

• The instructions on the box are very confusing.盒子上的使用说明含混不清。
• It's very confusing to learn a new language.学习一门新语言是很令人困惑的。

3 listener   

n.听众；收听者

参考例句：

• I'm a regular listener to her show.我经常收听她的节目。
• She became an attentive listener.她变成了一个专心致志的聆听者。

4 clarifying   

v.使清楚，澄清( clarify的现在分词 )；（尤指通过加热使黄油）纯净；说明；使（头脑、神智等）清醒

参考例句：

• I'd like to know what else needs clarifying. 我想知道还有什么需要澄清。 来自辞典例句
• There are considerable difficulties in clarifying the procedures appropriate for testing such assertions. 要说清楚适宜于检验这种主张的程序是相当困难的。 来自辞典例句

5 statement   

n.陈述；声明；综述

参考例句：

• The government will put out a new statement tomorrow.政府将于明天发布一项新声明。
• Put down your statement in black and white.把你的话用白纸黑字写下来。

6 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

7 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。

8 singular   

adj.个人的，单数的，独一的，唯一的，非凡的；n.单数

参考例句：

• The young man has a singular ear for music.这个年轻人对音乐有非凡的欣赏力。
• The noun is in the singular.这个名词是单数形式。

9 statements   

n.声明( statement的名词复数 )；（思想、观点、文章主题等的）表现；（文字）陈述；结算单

参考例句：

• We are faced with two apparently contradictory statements. 我们面前这两种说法显然是矛盾的。
• The report is inconsistent with the financial statements. 这个报告与财务报表内容不一致。