Some and Any – English Grammar Exercises for A1
You are writing a1-star review for a terrible hotel. You are complaining about the dirty bathroom, the rude staff, and the complete lack of basic amenities.
Read the sentences from the hotel review and choose the correct word (a, b, or c) to fill in the blank.
1 “I stayed at this hotel last night, but there weren’t ______ clean towels in the bathroom.”
(a) some
(b) a
(c) any
2 “I wanted to wash my hands, but there wasn’t ______ soap next to the sink.”
(a) some
(b) any
(c) a
3 “Instead of cleaning supplies, I only found ______ dirty hairs in the bathtub.”
(a) some
(b) any
(c) a
4 “To make things worse, we didn’t have ______ hot water for the shower.”
(a) a
(b) some
(c) any
5 “Why didn’t the cleaning staff leave ______ toilet paper for the guests?”
(a) some
(b) any
(c) a
6 “The room was incredibly dark because there was hardly ______ light coming from the small window.”
(a) any
(b) some
(c) a
7 “When I complained, the receptionist was rude and didn’t show ______ respect.”
(a) some
(b) any
(c) a
8 “They did provide ______ free shampoo, but the bottle was already half-empty!”
(a) any
(b) a
(c) some
9 “The manager never gave us ______ information about the breakfast time.”
(a) any
(b) some
(c) a
10 “I called the front desk and asked, ‘Could you please bring us ______ extra pillows?'”
(a) any
(b) some
(c) a
11 “We had to freeze all night! We slept without ______ blankets because the heater was broken.”
(a) some
(b) a
(c) any
12 “I looked in the mini-fridge, but I couldn’t find ______ bottled water.”
(a) any
(b) a
(c) some
13 “The hotel didn’t even offer us ______ free drinks to apologize for the mess.”
(a) some
(b) a
(c) any
14 “Did they even clean ______ rooms on this floor? The whole hallway smells terrible!”
(a) any
(b) some
(c) a
15 “It is obvious that this hotel rarely makes ______ effort to keep its customers happy.”
(a) some
(b) any
(c) a
16 “The shower is totally broken; it sprays water everywhere without ______ pressure control.”
(a) some
(b) a
(c) any
17 “If you want ______ good advice for your next vacation, do not book a room here!”
(a) any
(b) some
(c) a
18 “I was so angry that I didn’t want to leave ______ tips for the maid.”
(a) any
(b) some
(c) a
19 “There were hardly ______ power outlets in the room to charge our phones.”
(a) a
(b) some
(c) any
20 “In the end, I had to go downstairs to find ______ help from another guest.”
(a) any
(b) some
(c) a
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (c) any
- Why it’s correct: The sentence is negative (“weren’t”), which requires “any” to emphasize the complete lack of towels.
- Error Analysis: (a) “some” is a common mistake when learners forget to change the quantifier for negative sentences. (b) “a” is a structural error because “towels” is plural.
2 (b) any
- Why it’s correct: A negative sentence (“wasn’t”) used with the uncountable noun “soap”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “some” violates the negative sentence rule. (c) “a” is grammatically incorrect because “soap” is uncountable.
3 (a) some
- Why it’s correct: This is an affirmative (+) statement describing what the guest actually found.
- Error Analysis: (b) “any” is not used in basic affirmative sentences. (c) “a” is incorrect with the plural noun “hairs”.
4 (c) any
- Why it’s correct: A standard negative statement (“didn’t have”).
- Error Analysis: (b) “some” is the typical student error in negative structures. (a) “a” is a structural error with uncountable “water”.
5 (b) any
- Why it’s correct: A negative question (“Why didn’t…”). Both negatives and general questions require “any”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “some” is a common trap. (c) “a” is incorrect because “paper” is an uncountable noun.
6 (a) any
- Why it’s correct (Hidden Negative): The word “hardly” means “almost zero”. Because it carries a negative meaning, you must use “any”.
- Error Analysis: (b) “some” is a massive trap because the sentence lacks the word “not”. (c) “a” is wrong with uncountable “light”.
7 (b) any
- Why it’s correct: The verb is negative (“didn’t show”).
- Error Analysis: (a) “some” is a common mistake. (c) “a” is wrong with uncountable “respect”.
8 (c) some
- Why it’s correct: An affirmative statement confirming that the hotel did provide an item.
- Error Analysis: (a) “any” is wrong in positive statements. (b) “a” is a structural error because “shampoo” (as a liquid) is uncountable.
9 (a) any
- Why it’s correct (Hidden Negative): The adverb “never” makes the entire sentence negative.
- Error Analysis: (b) “some” is a common error for students who only look for “don’t” or “didn’t”. (c) “a” is a structural error with uncountable “information”.
10 (b) some
- Why it’s correct (Exception – Request): “Could you please bring us…” is a polite request. When asking for something to be given to you, you must break the question rule and use “some”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “any” is the biggest trap for learners who mechanically choose “any” for all question marks. (c) “a” is wrong with plural “pillows”.
11 (c) any
- Why it’s correct (Negative Preposition): The word “without” inherently means “not having”. Because of this negative nature, the following noun must take “any”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “some” is a familiar trap. (b) “a” is incorrect with plural “blankets”.
12 (a) any
- Why it’s correct: A straightforward negative sentence (“couldn’t find”).
- Error Analysis: (c) “some” is incorrect for negative statements. (b) “a” is wrong with uncountable “water”.
13 (c) any
- Why it’s correct (Tricky Context): Even though the word “offer” is in the sentence, the grammar of the sentence is negative (“didn’t offer”). Therefore, the standard negative rule applies.
- Error Analysis: (a) “some” is a great distractor. Students might see the word “offer” and wrongly apply the “offer exception”, ignoring the “didn’t”. (b) “a” is wrong with plural “drinks”.
14 (a) any
- Why it’s correct: A general Yes/No question checking a fact (“Did they clean…?”).
- Error Analysis: (b) “some” is incorrect for general inquiries. (c) “a” is wrong with plural “rooms”.
15 (b) any
- Why it’s correct (Hidden Negative): The word “rarely” (almost never) carries a negative meaning, so it requires “any”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “some” is a trap because the sentence lacks an explicit “not”. (c) “a” is incorrect with uncountable “effort”.
16 (c) any
- Why it’s correct (Negative Preposition): “Without” implies a complete lack of something, triggering the use of “any”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “some” is a common mistake. (b) “a” is wrong with uncountable “pressure control”.
17 (b) some
- Why it’s correct: An affirmative (+) conditional statement (“If you want…”).
- Error Analysis: (a) “any” violates the positive sentence rule. (c) “a” is a major structural error; “advice” is always uncountable in English, so we never say “an advice” or “a good advice”.
18 (a) any
- Why it’s correct: A negative sentence (“didn’t want”).
- Error Analysis: (b) “some” is the typical error. (c) “a” is wrong with plural “tips”.
19 (c) any
- Why it’s correct (Hidden Negative): “Hardly” requires “any”.
- Error Analysis: (b) “some” traps learners who mechanically look for “weren’t”. (a) “a” is wrong with plural “outlets”.
20 (b) some
- Why it’s correct: An affirmative statement declaring an action/need (“I had to… find…”).
- Error Analysis: (a) “any” is incorrect for affirmative sentences. (c) “a” is wrong with uncountable “help”.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
When you are unhappy with a service and want to write a negative review or complain about missing items, “ANY” is your best tool.
1 The “Zero Quantity” Complaint (-)
To emphasize that something was completely missing, use “There wasn’t / There weren’t” or a negative verb (didn’t have, couldn’t find) followed by “ANY”.
- Complaint: There weren’t any towels.
- Complaint: I couldn’t find any soap.
- (Never say: There weren’t some towels.)
2 Complaining with Hidden Negatives
Sometimes, you complain without using the word “not”. Words that mean “zero” or “almost zero” are naturally negative and must be followed by “ANY”.
- Without: We slept without any blankets.
- Hardly: There was hardly any light.
- Never / Rarely: They never gave us any information.
3 Asking to Fix the Problem (The Request Exception)
If you are complaining to the staff and asking them to fix the problem by bringing you something, your sentence turns into a Request. In requests, even with a question mark, you must switch back to “SOME”.
- Asking for a fix: Could you bring us some extra pillows?
- (Do NOT say: Could you bring us any extra pillows?)