Category: Grammar

The determiners Some and Any are often confused. These words are placed before count and non-count nouns. They express an indefinite number or quantity.

There are some children in the classroom.

NOTE: We aren’t talking about the exact number of children in the classroom.

I haven’t got any problems.

Tiffany has some relatives in Prague.

Uses of Determiners Some and Any

• Both determiners some and any are used with a singular and a plural noun.

Have you got any questions?

→ Any is used with the plural noun questions.

We haven’t got any money.

→ Any is used with the singular uncountable noun money.

• Remember to use some in an affirmative sentence with both countable and uncountable nouns.

I need some water.

There are some books on her desk.

All she needs is some time to think.

• On the other hand, we use any in a negative and an interrogative sentence.

They haven’t got any children.

Have you got any milk?

Exceptions

• Sometimes, some is used in making polite requests and offers.

Would you like some coffee?

→ This sentence sounds more natural than ‘Would you like any coffee?’

Could I have some salt and pepper, please?

→ This is a polite request.

Determiners Some and Any Exercise

Answer this exercise on determiners some and any.

1. Everyone makes ___ mistakes in life.

a. some

b. any

2. Could we have ___ bread?

a. some

b. any

3. Allison didn’t make ___ mistakes during her performance.

a. some

b. any

4. They have ___ money so they will buy a new computer.

a. some

b. any

5. Please go to the supermarket because we don’t have ___ milk anymore.
a. some

b. any

6. Has she got ___ questions?

a. some

b. any

7. Would he like ___ coffee?

a. some

b. any

8. They haven’t got ___ questions.

a. some

b. any

9. I don’t have ____ preference.

a. some

b. any.

10. I did not make ____ money helping my neighbor.

a. some

b. any

Find the answers to this exercise here.

See also: Quantifiers, Articles with Countable and Uncountable Nouns, and Some and Any (II).

For additional information on this topic, check out this English Club lesson.

For other English grammar lessons, go to this page.

In the English language, there are clauses that are used to express purpose. They are preceded by these words or expressions:

TO + Infinitive

* We use to + infinitive to express why an action is done.

We went to the gallery to support our friend on his photo exhibition.

IN ORDER THAT and SO THAT

IN ORDER THAT

* In order that is more formal and less commonly used than so that.

In order that you can join the organization, please fill out this form.

SO THAT

* We use so that to express that someone performs an action and someone else can consequently do or doesn’t have to do something else anymore.

I cooked some of his favorite dishes so that he can eat well again.

* We use so that + can / could / will be able to / would have to express that one action is possible because of the other one.

We left the office early so that we would have time to have dinner before going home.

* We use so that + don’t have to / won’t have to / wouldn’t have to to mean that one action will help avoid having to do something else.

I’m going to study hard so that I won’t have to worry so much before the exam.

* We use so that + won’t / wouldn’t / don’t to say that one action will prevent another thing to happen.

I always try to stay calm so that I don’t get into altercations.

IN ORDER TO / SO AS TO

* In order to is used the same way as to. However, to cannot be used before a negative infinitive. In this case, we use in order to.

Incorrect: To not be late for work, I woke up earlier this morning.
Correct: In order not to be late for work, I woke up earlier this morning.

Incorrect: They invested their money very strategically to not suffer a great loss.
Correct: They invested their money very strategically in order not to suffer a great loss.

* In order to or so as to is often used before stative verbs such as know, seem, appear, understand, have, etc.

They had a very long meeting about the issue so as to have a better understanding of the situation.

He tried to study his presentation all night in order to know every little detail of it.

FOR + noun

* We use for + noun to express purpose.

She is working hard for a chance at a promotion.

FOR + gerund

* We use for + gerund to express purpose and/or function of something.

Her efforts are all for raising awareness about climate change.

FOR AND DURING

FOR + period of time
* to talk about the duration of the action

We watched the series for six hours last weekend.
Martha is traveling for two weeks in December.
We haven’t seen each other for ages!
Are you going to the beach for the weekend?

DURING + noun
* to say when the action occurs (not how long)

He fell asleep during his economics class.
I made some new friends during my holiday in Hawaii.
His car is not here anymore. He must have left during the night.

* never use during to talk about duration

Incorrect: She practiced during a week without stopping.
Correct: She practiced for a week without stopping.

Incorrect: I’ve been working for this company during 15 years.
Correct: I’ve been working for this company for 15 years.

IN and DURING
* use in or during with time expressions such as the morning, the afternoon, the summer

He must have left in the morning. ( = during the morning)
She’ll call you sometime during the afternoon. ( = in the afternoon)

DURING AND WHILE

SIMPLE PAST OR PRESENT PERFECT

* for new or recent actions:

I‘ve lost my phone. Have you seen it? = I lost my phone. Have you seen it?

I‘ve just arrived home. = I just arrived home.

* for something that is now

I‘ve forgotten your name. What is it again? = I forgot your name.

* for new information

Have you heard the news? Sarah has won the lottery! = Sarah won the lottery!

There has been an accident. = There was an accident.

PRESENT PERFECT NOT SIMPLE PAST

* for a period of time that continues up to present

It hasn’t rained all summer. (if it is still summer time)

SIMPLE PAST NOT PRESENT PERFECT

* for finished time

It didn’t rain all summer. (if summer is finished already)

Did you dream about being famous when you were a child?

* for information that’s not new or recent

Picasso was a genius. He painted many classic works of art.

* for when the situation is different now

He stopped traveling for a while, but now he’s traveling again.

FORM

will have been + verb’s present participle (base + ing)

=> will have been doing

Positive and Negative:

I will have been doing

I won’t have been doing

You will have been doing
You won’t have been doing

He/She/It will have been doing
He/She/It won’t have been doing

We/They will have been doing
We/They won’t have been doing

Interrogative and Negative Interrogative:

Will I have been doing?
Won’t I have been doing?

Will you have been doing?
Won’t you have been doing?

Will he/she/it have been doing?
Won’t he/she/it have been doing?

Will we/they have been doing?
Won’t we/they have been doing?

USE

Future perfect continuous is used when talking about actions that will continue up until a specific time in the future.

Moreover, it is used to project forward in time and look back at how long an action has been happening. The action will have started in a time in the past, present, or future, and is expected to continue in the future.

Examples:

His mother-in-law and Kara will have been waiting for him here for three hours by six o’clock.
By 2019, his family will have been living in Dubai for two years.
When the students finish this course, they will have been learning English for fifteen years.
Next year, Anne will have been working at Google for five years.
When the train arrives at 8:00, will you have been waiting for too long?

Remember:

Non-action verbs such as to be, to seem, or to know cannot be used in the continuous/progressive tense. Instead, the future perfect tense (will have + past participle) is used.

Examples:

Incorrect: In December, I will have been knowing you for a year.
Correct: In December, I will have known you for a year.

Incorrect: She will have been reading thirty novels by the end of the year.
Correct: She will have read thirty novels by the end of the year.

USE WHEN OR WHILE

When and while function as subordinating conjunctions and is used to introduce an adverbial time clause. It indicates during the time that and shows the action is or was happening when the other action occurred:

• The phone rang when / while she was doing the laundry.
  
• When / While she was doing the laundry, the phone rang.

Similarly, as and whilst are used in the same way. As and whilst’s tone is rather more formal or literary.

• As the car drove away, I watched him leave.
  
• I watched him leave whilst the car drove away.

During is a preposition that introduces a longer duration. It is used with either a noun or a noun phrase:

• I learned how to cook paella during my stay to Spain.
  
• I learned how to cook paella while I was staying in Spain.

ONLY USE WHEN

When is used and not while, when trying to express that the action happens simultaneously as the longer one or the event that is referred to in the main clause:

• He was surprised when Martin told him he got promoted.
  
• He was still sleeping deeply when his alarm went off.

Moreover, when and not while is used to express that one action happens subsequently after another and to talk about duration in the past.

• When it started raining, everyone hurried home.
  
• When she was a little girl, rainy days were very often but that was just for several weeks.

Instead of using when, we can use whenever to mean every time that:

• I always turn off the light when I leave the room.
  
• I always turn off the light whenever I leave the room.

ONLY USE WHILE

We often use while when talking about the longer action of two events or when talking about two longer actions that occur at the same time:

• Martin called while Kara was at work.
  
• While they were planning the next project, the other team was brainstorming.
  
• Linda cleaned the room while Margaret watered the flowers.

Keep in mind that even though we usually use a progressive tense, it is also possible to use simple tenses to talk about longer action involving a while time clause.

Furthermore, if the main and subordinate clauses have the same subject, you may leave out the subject and verb be in the when- and while-clause:

• When (you are) studying, be very focused.
  
• He bumped into an old friend while (he was) sightseeing in Milan.

USE WHILE TO SHOW CONTRASTING IDEAS

We do not only use while to introduce an adverbial time clause. It is often used more formally to connect or balance contrasting ideas:

• While they are upset about the bad news, they don’t want to show it.
  
• While they have been happily married so far, there will definitely be moments when they must prepare for tough times.

In the examples above, the while-clause is usually placed first of the two contrasting ideas.

MEANWHILE MEANS “DURING THIS TIME”

Meanwhile or during this time, is a linking adverb which is used to link and contrast ideas between two sentences. It is used to express that two events are happening simultaneously:

• Prepare the marinade. Meanwhile, mise en place all the other ingredients.
  
• Do your homework. Meanwhile, I’ll prepare some snacks.

A WHILE = A SHORT TIME

In cases when while are used as a noun, almost always, it is used with an indefinite article:

• I haven’t read a book for a while. What have I been doing?
  
• Let’s just stay here a little while longer. It’s so relaxing here.

FORM

Positive and Negative

I will have done
I won’t have done

You will have done
You won’t have done

He/She/It will have done
He/She/It won’t have done

We/They will have done
We/They won’t have done

Questions

Will I have done?
Won’t I have done?

Will you have done?
Won’t you have done?

Will he/she/it have done?
Won’t he/she/it have done?

Will we/they have done?
Won’t we/they have done?

USE      

• Future perfect is used when talking about an action that will that will be completed between now and a specified point in the future.

This time next week, she will have graduated from the university.

Common phrases used together with Future Perfect:

By April, she will have been 18.
This time next week, she will have left the country.
In two years’ time, they will have been together for 15 years.
When she leaves, he’ll have cleaned the house.
By the time Ronald get to school, his classmates will probably have waited a long time.

• Future Perfect is also used to predict about events in the future that will be complete before a specified time in the future.

Do they think he will have stolen all her money?
No, they won’t have broken that!

                                  Usage                           If clause                         Main clause

ZERO                      General Truths                   Simple Present                        Simple present

Type 1     Possible Condition; Probable Result  Simple Present                   Simple Future

ZERO CONDITIONAL

We use the zero conditional when talking about a real and possible situation that is now or always. It is also often used to talk about general truths. Simple present tense is used in both the if and and main clause. In a zero conditional sentence, “if” and “when” can be used interchangeably without changing the meaning of the sentence.

Examples:

If clause                                                            Main Clause

If you sneeze                                                  you blink your eyes.

If it snows                                                        it gets really cold.

If it’s sunny                                                      she doesn’t like going out.

TYPE 1 CONDITIONAL

We use type 1 conditional to talk about a real situation in the present or future. It is used talk about a possible condition and its probable result. In a Type 1 conditional sentence, simple present is used in the if clause, and simple future in the main clause.

Examples:

If clause                                                            Main Clause

If you don’t study,                                           you will fail the exam.

If you don’t bring your umbrella,                 you won’t have something to use later.

If the sun shines,                                             she will leave her clothes outside to dry.

Singular
myself – yourself – himself – herself – itself

Plural
ourselves – yourselves – themselves

USE

* when the subject and object are the same

She hurt herself.
The team call themselves “Wild Cats”.
He burned himself.

* as the object of a preposition, when the subject and the object are the same

She bought a present for herself.
They did it by themselves.
The dog is biting itself.

* to emphasize the subject

She‘ll do it herself.
He did all the work himself.