Before we begin it is important to know what countable nouns and uncountable nouns are.
Basically nouns that you count such as trees or books, these are countable.
One book, two books.
You can count books so book is a countable noun.
Nouns that you cannot count such as rain or love,
these are known as uncountable nouns.
You cannot say 1 rain or 2 rains.
So the word rain is an uncountable noun.
See our video about countable and uncountable nouns for more details and examples.
Before singular countable nouns we can use A or AN which are both indefinite articles.
A is used when the next word starts with a consonant sound.
a book, a dog, a house, a University.
The start of the word university sounds like "YOU" a consonant sound.
AN is used when the next word starts with a vowel sound.
An apple, an egg, an orange, an hour.
The letter H in this word is silent, so it sounds like it starts with a vowel.
For more information, see our video about the difference between A and AN in English.
Let's look at the summary chart.
It is divided into singular countable nouns, plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns.
I'll explain each part in a moment.
I have a flower.
Flower is a singular countable noun.
It is an affirmative sentence
and we use A because the word flower starts with a consonant sound.
I have a flower.
The next one: I have two flowers.
Flowers is a plural countable noun.
Since flower is a countable noun, we can use a number before it.
I have two flowers.
But if we don't know the exact number, we can say I have some flowers.
I do not specify the quantity or maybe I don't know the exact quantity, so I use the word SOME.
I have some flowers.
SOME is used because flowers is a plural countable noun
and this is an affirmative sentence.
But what happens if the sentence is negative?
We say: I don't have any flowers.
Why do we use ANY?
Because flowers is a plural countable noun
but it is also in a negative sentence,
so we say: I don't have any flowers.
SOME and ANY are used to refer to an indefinite quantity of something.
Let's look at some more examples.
Remember, SOME is for affirmative sentences and ANY is for negative sentences.
I need some new shoes.
We use SOME because shoes is a plural countable noun and it is an affirmative sentence.
What would the negative be?
I don't need any new shoes.
ANY is used because it is a negative sentence
She wants some grapes.
SOME because it is an affirmative sentence.
What would be the opposite of the sentence?
She doesn't want any grapes.
ANY is used because it is a negative sentence
Now we have only seen countable nouns.
With uncountable nouns we also use SOME or ANY.
The same rules apply, SOME for affirmative sentences and ANY for negative sentences.
Milk is an uncountable noun.
We need some milk.
We use SOME because we don't specify an amount and it is an affirmative sentence.
How can we make this a negative sentence?
We don't need any milk.
Now look at this example:
We need a bottle of milk.
Why don't we use SOME here?
We use it because we're counting bottles and not milk.
We are specifying the number of bottles, in this case one.
We use SOME with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns.
Some more examples with uncountable nouns:
I'd like some sugar please.
You can't count sugar.
Sugar is an uncountable noun.
You can count teaspoons of sugar, but there you are counting the teaspoons and not the sugar.
Though sometimes you may hear people say
I'll have 3 sugars in my coffee please...
but that is because they are still referring to the teaspoon of sugar and not the sugar itself.
How about a negative sentence.
I don't want any sugar thanks.
Sugar is uncountable and we use ANY because it is a negative sentence.
Another example, help is uncountable so we say:
He needs some help... which is an affirmative sentence.
The negative would be:
He doesn't need any help.
Now we need to look at questions.
We normally use A and AN with singular countable nouns
and ANY before plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns.
Let's look at the following examples:
Did you have an accident?
We used AN because accident is a singular countable.
Do you have any questions?
We use ANY because the word questions is a plural countable noun.
Does he need any help?
We use ANY because help is an uncountable noun.
So, as we have seen we normally use ANY with questions.
However there are three main exceptions...
when we offer something
when we ask for something
and when we suggest something.
Here we use SOME instead of ANY.
Let's look at some examples:
Would you like some cake?
Here I am offering cake.
When we offer something we use SOME.
Notice how I'm not specifying the amount of cake that I am offering.
Can I have some cake please?
I am asking for some cake so we use SOME in the question instead of ANY.
Why don't we buy some cake?
Here we use SOME because I'm making a suggestion.
You can use SOME and ANY in a sentence without a noun after it
if its meaning is clear or obvious.
I didn't eat any chocolate, but Peter ate some.
What does SOME mean here?
SOME at the end of this sentence means some chocolate.
We don't write or say the word chocolate again to avoid repetition.
I took lots of photos but Emma didn't take any.
What does ANY refer to?
ANY at the end of this sentence means any photos.
Why did we use ANY instead of SOME?
Because it says Emma didn't take which is negative and we use ANY with negative sentences.
I bought some grapes. Would you like some?
SOME at the end of this question means some grapes.
It is a question but why do we use SOME instead of ANY?
It is because we are offering something.
It is a question that offers something, you're offering grapes.
Let's practice.
Complete the following dialogue using A, AN, SOME or ANY.
Pause this video so that you have time to complete this exercise.
When you're ready, click play again to hear the answers.
Let's make A fruit salad.
Good idea what do we need?
We need an apple,
a pear
and some oranges.
We need some grapes.
I don't want any grapes in it. I hate them.
Do we have any strawberries in the fridge?
No, we don't. We need to buy some.
We don't need to add any sugar to it.