The United Nations said Tuesday that only a fraction of flood victims in Pakistan have received any help.
The above sentence was quoted from VOA.
I have a question below :
Could we use "some help" replace "any help" here?
Thank you.
From Tien-sung
(Taipei Taiwan)
********** NOT a teacher **********
Hello, Tien-sung.
(1) I
cannot give you an answer. All I can do is to offer some
ideas. Then you will have to decide for yourself until someone
explains the difference to you and me.
(2) Here is the evidence:
(a) Professor Quirk tells us that the use of
some means that an amount of
something is known to the speaker.
(b) Professor Huddleston gives these two examples (I have changed
two words):
The store was closed, so I could not buy
any cookies.
The store was closed, so I could not buy
some cookies. (The professor
explains that the difference is slight.
Some draws
more attention to the
intention (plan) that I had to buy some.
(c) Professor Jacobson gives these two examples:
If Will has
any apples, I want them.
If Will has
some apples, I want them. (The professor says that the use of
some means that the speaker believes that Will has apples.)
*****
Now we have to make some guesses.
(3) There is no doubt that the VOA's sentence is "good" English.
(1) Our dear friend Mr. Michael Swan says:
We use
any affirmative clauses after words that have a negative or
limiting meaning:
You
never give me any help.
There is
little point in doing any more work.
We got there
without any trouble.
(2) It is only my guess that -- as you suggested -- it would also
be "good" English to use
some in the VOA's sentence. But I am
not
able to explain the difference.
(a) Using the evidence from those scholars whom I have cited, I
will make a guess. Of course, I may be 100% wrong.
(i) Only a fraction of victims have received
any help.
(ii) Only a fraction of victims have received
some help.
It seems to me that (ii) means that the speaker (or the writer)
knows for sure that some victims have
indeed received
an indefinite amount of help.
Sorry that I cannot help more.
THANK YOU