Something/anything

[Rachel Adams]

This sentence is from Raymond Murphy's "English Grammar in Use". Why do they use "something" and not "anything" in the question?

"Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?"

 

[5jj]

Is this from a section on some(thing) and any(thing)? Does Murphy give no explanation?

 

[Rachel Adams]

Is this from a section on some(thing) and any(thing)? Does Murphy give no explanation?

No, it was in another section. It's unit 4. Present continuous and present simple.

 

[5jj]

Michael Lewis [The English Verb, (1986), Hove: LTP] wrote:

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.

The restriction may be a real one – There’s some cheese in the fridge – or a psychological one, existing only in the mind of the speaker – Would you like something to eat?

The real semantic distinction is as simple as that, and applies to all uses of some and any.

Lewis could have added, "and to all words beginning with some or any - ~one, ~body, ~thing, ..."​

​

 

[Rachel Adams]

Thank you so much. What does he mean by"restricted" and "limited" and "unrestricted" and "unlimited"?

 

[5jj]

These words are used with their normal meanings.

Limited in extent, number, scope, or action. https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/restricted

Confined or restricted within certain limits. https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=limited

 

[Rachel Adams]

I understand now. Thanks. Regarding this part "The restriction may be a real one – There’s some cheese in the fridge – or a psychological one, existing only in the mind of the speaker – Would you like something to eat?" What is a psychological restriction?:shock:

 

[probus]

I'm guessing here, but I think "Would you like something to eat?" is psychologically restricted in that the speaker probably is offering a choice only from what is on hand or could be easily cooked up from readily available ingredients. On the other hand, "Would you like anything to eat?" is an unrestricted enquiry about whether the person is hungry. Natural replies would include, among others:

1. Yes, let's go out for a bite.
2. No, I'm not hungry.
3. I don't know. What is there?