anything

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I posted the thread yesterday but can't find it now. Now I am posting it again.

Please read the following:

"It's very kind of you to help me." "Oh, that's all rihgt. _________, I enjoy it."
a. It was nothing b. It wasn't anything.
The key is "a". Could you please explain why "b" isn't correct?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[Tdol]

It's standard phrase, so the other form doesn't work- it's more collocation than grammar.

[Supergirl]

Hi Jiang,
"It was nothing." The word "it" is referring to the effort the person used for helping. The effort was nothing, or it was not a big effort to help you.

"It wasn't anything." This would change the meaning a little. It means "the problem he was helping you with wasn't anything." (the problem wasn't important)

[jiang]

Dear tdol,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.

Best wishes,

Jiang

It's standard phrase, so the other form doesn't work- it's more collocation than grammar.

[jiang]

Hi Supergirl,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.

Best wishes,

Jiang

Hi Jiang,
"It was nothing." The word "it" is referring to the effort the person used for helping. The effort was nothing, or it was not a big effort to help you.

"It wasn't anything." This would change the meaning a little. It means "the problem he was helping you with wasn't anything." (the problem wasn't important)