without any

[panicmonger]

Q: Does this engine use petrol?
B1: This engine uses petrol.
B2: This engine doesn't use petrol.

Q: Did you buy eggs?
D1: I bought eggs.
D2: I did not buy eggs.


Will you accept these questions & answers without "any" in them because the interest is not in the quantities?

Thank you.

[Munch]

Q: Does this engine use petrol?
B1: This engine uses petrol.
B2: This engine doesn't use petrol.

Q: Did you buy eggs?
D1: I bought eggs.
D2: I did not buy eggs.


Will you accept these questions & answers without "any" in them because the interest is not in the quantities?

Thank you.

No, I don't think that is why they are ok without "any". The first example would sound strange with "any". The second would sound almost the same. Something else is going on here.

[TheParser]

Q: Does this engine use petrol?
B1: This engine uses petrol.
B2: This engine doesn't use petrol.

Q: Did you buy eggs?
D1: I bought eggs.
D2: I did not buy eggs.


Will you accept these questions & answers without "any" in them because the interest is not in the quantities?

Thank you.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Mr. Michael Swan, author of the very popular Practical English Usage

agrees with you:

This engine doesn't use petrol. =

The interest is in the type of fuel, not the amount.

[e2e4]

/A learner/

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Mr. Michael Swan, author of the very popular Practical English Usage

agrees with you:

This engine doesn't use petrol. =

The interest is in the type of fuel, not the amount.

I agree to M.Swan this time.

[panicmonger]

Thank you all.

Do you also accept both of these?

1. I do not have children.
2. I do not have friends.

Without "some" or "any" before the plurals, will you feel a bit unnatural or weird with them?

Thanks a lot.
I appreciate your help.

[bhaisahab]

Thank you all.

Do you also accept both of these?

1. I do not have children.
2. I do not have friends.

Without "some" or "any" before the plurals, will you feel a bit unnatural or weird with them?

Thanks a lot.
I appreciate your help.

They are both fine.

[TheParser]

Thank you all.

Do you also accept both of these?

1. I do not have children.
2. I do not have friends.

Without "some" or "any" before the plurals, will you feel a bit unnatural or weird with them?

Thanks a lot.
I appreciate your help.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

(1) This is a family-oriented website, so I must be careful in how

I explain the following:

If I remember correctly, there was once a very famous

author who had "sentimental relationships" only with his own

gender. I believe that he once said something like:

I do not have friends, only lovers.

Like the petrol example, I guess that we can say that "friends"

and "lovers" refer to the type of acquaintances that he had.

***

Regarding your "children" example, I can well imagine a tired and

exasperated mother screaming:

I do not have children. I have monsters!