nothing etc.

[jiang]

Dear JSmiley,

The definitions of the word in Longman dictionary of contemporary English is too complicated for me to understand so I chose the one that I could understand. The following is from Longman:

1. any thing, event, situation etc, when it does not matter exactly which: Anything will do to wedge the door open. 2. used in quesitons, negatives, and statements expressing possibility to mean 'nothing' or 'something':You can't believe anything she says. Have you heard anything about the new Garrison Keillor book?

I am sure you can understand the definitions and the examples.

Jiang

Originally Posted by JSmiley

from here, my best advice would be to look at some other dictionaries and see how they differ in their definition of 'anything.' I just checked and the oxford american says: "used to refer to a thing, no matter what"

From looking at both, I am understanding that it should be read as "ANYTHING is a thing, regardless of what that thing is (no matter what that thing is)"

so: 'no matter what' is not meant to be a synonym, but a qualifier for the meaning of what kind of thing anything can be.

Hope that helps.

[JSmiley]

Yes, I see how that definition could be difficult, but it is actually clearer.
The basic point of ANY is that it talks about a thing, but what that thing is does not need to be specific. In Japanese, the translation is ?? (I'm assuming the chinese character might help you) - nanika - whatthing. This is pretty accurate; it is at least one thing, but we know not what.

[jiang]

Dear JSmiley,

I am glad the definition helps. If it doesn't bother you too much could you please explain

a. why different meanings can only be used in different structures such as negative, interogative and statement?
b. I feel confused again because, if my understanding, I have a feeling that your explanation this time differed from the other time you explain the words 'everything' and 'anything':


A man who can resist ANYTHING except temptation is very likely to end up in prison.
::He can resist all things in this case.
I think since you confirmed 'in this case' means 'situation' or 'condition' anything must be something limited to 'this case'. Is that so?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Have a nice weekend.

Jiang

Originally Posted by JSmiley

Yes, I see how that definition could be difficult, but it is actually clearer.
The basic point of ANY is that it talks about a thing, but what that thing is does not need to be specific. In Japanese, the translation is ?? (I'm assuming the chinese character might help you) - nanika - whatthing. This is pretty accurate; it is at least one thing, but we know not what.

[JSmiley]

a.
Different meanings can only be used in different structures, because it is the structures themselves (and the words in them) that change the final meaning of the sentence. If you analyze any sentence with 'any' in it, you will always be able to find that <ANY == NOT NONE == NOT NOT ONE> The meaning of ANY will NEVER CHANGE! The impact of ANY on the sentence changes based on your structure (pay attention to other negatives, and tense)

b.
"A man who can resist ANYTHING except temptation is very likely to end up in prison. "
::I mean that IN THE CASE OF THIS SENTENCE, 'anything' means all things.

Your paraphrase, "he can resist all things," does not deal with "...except temptation is very likely to end up in prison"

A paraphrase of the whole sentence (you know I hate this sentence, and here's why:) would read:

"A man who can resist all things except temptation is very likely to end up in prison"
>>
"Most men are likely to end up in prison!!!!!"

'in this case' means how it is used in the sentence (positive, future possible)

ANY becomes ALL because:

Any things that happen in the future become all things that happen in the future - none of these things have happened yet. (any = not none!)

I am now suggesting in even stronger terms that you LOOK AT A DIFFERENT SENTENCE!! This is not a sentence that an english speaker would use. It is a bastardized version of a toungue-in-cheek expression, which was originally meant to be a funny joke. It has almost no relevance to the real world.

You may wish to explore what this really means (paraphrase it):

"I can resist anything/everything except temptation itself"

but you will find a good understanding of any word, not just this one, if you look at as many different sentences as possible that use it. Just try googling the word 'any' and see what comes up, and see whether or not you can understand the sentences in the pages returned by google.

[jiang]

Dear JSmiley,

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

Have a nice weekend.

Jiang

Originally Posted by JSmiley

a.
Different meanings can only be used in different structures, because it is the structures themselves (and the words in them) that change the final meaning of the sentence. If you analyze any sentence with 'any' in it, you will always be able to find that <ANY == NOT NONE == NOT NOT ONE> The meaning of ANY will NEVER CHANGE! The impact of ANY on the sentence changes based on your structure (pay attention to other negatives, and tense)

b.
"A man who can resist ANYTHING except temptation is very likely to end up in prison. "
::I mean that IN THE CASE OF THIS SENTENCE, 'anything' means all things.

Your paraphrase, "he can resist all things," does not deal with "...except temptation is very likely to end up in prison"

A paraphrase of the whole sentence (you know I hate this sentence, and here's why:) would read:

"A man who can resist all things except temptation is very likely to end up in prison"
>>
"Most men are likely to end up in prison!!!!!"

'in this case' means how it is used in the sentence (positive, future possible)

ANY becomes ALL because:

Any things that happen in the future become all things that happen in the future - none of these things have happened yet. (any = not none!)

I am now suggesting in even stronger terms that you LOOK AT A DIFFERENT SENTENCE!! This is not a sentence that an english speaker would use. It is a bastardized version of a toungue-in-cheek expression, which was originally meant to be a funny joke. It has almost no relevance to the real world.

You may wish to explore what this really means (paraphrase it):

"I can resist anything/everything except temptation itself"

but you will find a good understanding of any word, not just this one, if you look at as many different sentences as possible that use it. Just try googling the word 'any' and see what comes up, and see whether or not you can understand the sentences in the pages returned by google.