Difference between SOMETHING ANYTHING and NOTHING Basic English Grammar
Wanna speak real English from your first lesson?
Sign up for your free lifetime account at
EnglishClass101.com.
Send your questions here!
Send your questions to me at this website!
This website, please.
So I can find them all in one place.
Hi everybody, welcome back to Ask Alisha,
the weekly series where you ask me questions
and I answer them.
Maybe.
First question!
First question this week comes from Isik Alexander
again.
Hi, Isik.
Uh, Isik says, “hi Alisha, what’s the difference
between ‘store’ and ‘shop’?”
Store and shop.
I think this question is about nouns.
The difference between the noun “store” and
the noun “shop.”
In American English, there’s really no difference
between the two, however, we tend to use “store”
more often than “shop.”
As verbs, however, they’re quite different.
To store something means to keep something
away.
Like, to store something in like a cupboard
or to store something in your house, or to
store something in a storage unit.
You’re keeping that, usually for a long time.
Like, storing something for winter, or you’re
storing something for the next season or the
next year.
She stores emergency food in a cabinet.
They stored meat over the winter.
To shop, however, as a verb, means to go out
and look for something to buy.
I need to shop for a new car.
He wants to shop for a watch.
Also, one interesting point: when we talk
about going to the supermarket, actually,
we usually say, “I’m going to the store.”
We always use the article “the.”
We always say “I’m going to the store,” or
“I think I’m gonna go to the store.”
I’m going to the store.
Do you need anything?
The store means like, the supermarket.
Or like, the neighborhood store where most
everyday goods are sold.
Next question comes from Danny.
Hi, Danny.
Danny says: thanks for your Q&A every week.
My question is about the nuance of “I take
the time,” “I take time,” and “I spend time.”
I don’t really know how to use them correctly.
Ah, okay.
Sure.
Uh, so, “take time” and “spend time” – before
we talk about those, let’s talk about an important
idiom that’s related to this topic.
When we say the expression “take your time,”
or “take one’s time,” it means “do something,”
but not in like a rush.
It means do something at a leisurely or easy
pace.
Examples:
She took her time choosing a sofa.
You took your time at the mall.
We took our time shopping.
So, now let’s look at “spend time” and “take
time.”
The verb “spend” is also used with something
like money, right?
So, when we use “spend” with time, we can
kind of think of spending time like you’re
spending a resource, the same way you spend
money as a resource.
So it’s like we have this resource of time,
and we choose to spend our time on some activity,
doing something.
So we’re spending this resource that we have
on an activity.
Examples:
I spent some time cleaning.
They spend all day at the beach.
We spent four hours on paperwork.
Take time and “take the time” – those are
expressions we use when it’s like we don’t
really have that time, but we decide we’re
going to use our time for that thing.
So maybe it’s not something that’s necessary,
or maybe it’s not something we’re responsible
to do.
But we choose to use our time that way.
Um, so “take time” is used typically for things
that are maybe extra.
That we don’t necessarily have a responsibility
to do and that maybe it’s difficult for us
sometimes to find the time to do those things.
If you want to sort of emphasize the importance
of your time – the level of importance of
your time, you can add “the,” like “I take
the time every week to…” blah blah blah.
That sounds a little bit more like – it
increases how important your time is.
So, examples.
I take time every week to exercise.
She takes the time to visit her grandmother
every day.
We took some time, but we finally finished
the report.
So, I hope that helps you a little bit.
There are a lot of expressions related to
“take time” and “spend time” and “take your
time.”
I mentioned “find time” and “make time” as
well.
Uh, maybe this is something I can make a whiteboard
video about in the future.
Some different expressions we can use with
“time.”
So, thanks very much for the question.
I hope that that helped you.
Next question!
Next question comes from Denis.
Denis!
Hi, Denis.
What is the difference in pronunciation: think,
sink, thing, and sing?
Great, nice one.
Nice question.
A big pronunciation question.
Lots of my students have this problem, actually.
Okay, so, the difference here.
Uh, “think” and “thing' both start with that
“th” sound.
So, I think I’ve talked about it in a previous
episode of Ask Alisha, but “think” – that
“th” sound – if you have trouble making
that “th” sound like in “think” and “thing,”
um, you can kind of make it like an exaggerated
– you can practice the pronunciation by
doing it a little too much.
So, like, um, put your tongue between your
teeth, like this (“think”) and then try to
make the sound.
Sink and “sing” don’t have that tongue between
the teeth, or the tongue doesn’t touch the
back of the teeth in the same way.
Sink and “sing” don’t have that pronunciation.
Also, there’s that “ing” sound at the end
of “sing,” so your tongue moves towards the
back of your mouth.
So “think” and “thing” have the same beginning
sound.
Sink and “sing” have the same beginning sound.
But “thing” and “sing” have the same ending
sound.
Think and “sink” have the same ending sound
as well.
Think, sink, thing, sing.
It’s good to practice, maybe.
It’s difficult for me, even.
But those are some good pairs to practice
your “th” pronunciation on.
Okay.
I hope that helps!
Thanks for the question!
Let’s go to the next question.
Next question comes from Viktoria.
Hi, Viktoria.
Viktoria says, please explain the use of “something,”
“anything,” and “nothing.”
Okay.
Uh, to begin with, maybe think of the rules
for “some” and “any.”
Actually, there’s a video on the YouTube channel
about using “some” and “any.”
If you have seen the video, that might be
helpful for you, but we can use some of the
same rules with “something” and “anything.”
So, remember, “something” is used when we
want to make a statement; a positive statement.
And we can also use it when we make questions.
I need to get something for lunch.
Do you want something to drink?
We should buy her something for her birthday.
Then, just as with “any,” we use “anything”
when we’re making negative statements.
We can also use this when we’re asking questions.
We want some kind of information, too.
Examples:
I haven’t eaten anything!
Do you want anything?
He didn’t take anything to work.
So, the final word here, “nothing.”
Uh, nothing is used to mean zero.
Zero of an object.
Zero of some…thing.
Uh, but we can use “nothing” in positive statements.
So, this is different from “anything.”
Anything we use in negative statements, like
“I haven’t eaten anything.”
Nothing is used in a positive statement.
So there’s not a “not” in that expression.
Examples:
I learned nothing in the lecture.
He shopped all day, but bought nothing.
The police found nothing dangerous.
I hope that that helps you.
Thanks for the question!
Next question!
..comes from…Yukari.
Hi, Yukari.
Yukari says: how do you use “will have done”
and “will be doing”?
I want to know how to use these in situations.
Yeah, tough grammar points.
So, um, these grammar points are the future
perfect tense and the future progressive tense.
Um, simply, the future perfect tense is used
to talk about actions that will be finished
at some point in the future.
By my 50th birthday I will have traveled to
50 countries.
By 2019, I will have lived here for 10 years.
By this time next month, she will have finished
her project.
The progressive form (the future progressive
form) is used to talk about actions that will
be continuing at a point in the future.
Next year, I’ll be working in a different
city.
In summer of 2020, Tokyo will be hosting the
Olympics.
In 12 hours, he’ll be sleeping.
So I hope that helps.
I know it’s a very quick example, but maybe
I can make some more lessons about this point
in the future.
Thank you very much for the question.
Okay, so those are all the questions that
I have for this week.
Thank you so much, as always, for sending
your questions.
Remember, please send your questions to this
URL: englishclass101.com/ask-alisha.
I can make sure to find all of your questions
here.
So if you have your question, please send
it here, not in a YouTube comment.
This is the way I can check everything.
If you liked the video, too, don’t forget
to give it a thumbs up, come subscribe to
the channel if you have not already, and check
us out at EnglishClass101.com for some other
resources for your English studies.
Thanks very much for watching this episode
of Ask Alisha, and I will see you again next week.
Bye bye!