Please need help on a few sentences

[learning54]

Hi teachers,

Could you help me with these sentences?

Which one is better?
a) Caroline is writing an e-mail to somebody. Who is it?
b) Caroline is writing an e-mail to somebody. To whom?

Are all of them correct? I think so. My question is on 'c'. Why do we use 'something' in this context?
a) Is Robert going to buy everything in the store?
b) Is Robert going to buy anything in the store?
c) Is Robert going to buy something in the store?

Thanks in advance

[bhaisahab]

Hi teachers,

Could you help me with these sentences?

Which one is better?
a) Caroline is writing an e-mail to somebody. Who is it? "Who to?"
b) Caroline is writing an e-mail to somebody. To whom?
I'd suggest "Who to?" for a). b) is fine. Both are correct, a) is more likely.

Are all of them correct? I think so. My question is on 'c'. Why do we use 'something' in this context? Why not?
a) Is Robert going to buy everything in the store?
b) Is Robert going to buy anything in the store?
c) Is Robert going to buy something in the store?

Thanks in advance

Bhai.

[learning54]

Bhai.

Hi,
Thank you for your reply.

Are all of them correct? I think so. My question is on 'c'. Why do we use 'something' in this context? Why not?
OK. Then what is the difference in using 'anything' or 'something' in this possible yes/no question?
a) Is Robert going to buy everything in the store?
b) Is Robert going to buy anything in the store?
c) Is Robert going to buy something in the store?

I know this: One of the uses of any is in yes / no questions, but we can also use some in yes / no questions when we express a petition or an offer, though this is not the case for the above sentence.

[5jj]

You may find this thread interesting: http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/147764-another-some-any-question.html#post753651. What is said about 'some' and 'any' applies to 'something/anything'.

[learning54]

You may find this thread interesting: http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/147764-another-some-any-question.html#post753651. What is said about 'some' and 'any' applies to 'something/anything'.

Hi,
Thank you so much for the thread.
I think this is the one that fits best. What do you think?

“Both some and any are used with indefinite reference.
Some is used if the idea is restricted or limited in some way.
Any is used if the idea is unrestricted or unlimited.
Any applies to all or none; some applies to part.

Best,
L54