Grammar ~21 min of the core left

Say "somebody", "something", "nowhere"

After this lesson you can

I can talk about a person, a thing or a place without saying which, and make a correct negative.

Start the lesson Core 19–21 min · steps: 6 · optional: +2

Declared core time. Two of the core blocks carry no figure at all, so the real lesson is longer than this sum.

Grammar

5 min

These compound words are built from two parts: some / any / no / every + body / thing / where.

person thing place
some- somebody, someone something somewhere
any- anybody, anyone anything anywhere
no- nobody, no one nothing nowhere
every- everybody, everyone everything everywhere

The rule for choosing is the same as for some and any in A1 #15:

statement Somebody called you. / I saw something.
question Is there anybody here? / Do you want anything?
negative I didn't see anybody. = I saw nobody.

nobody, nothing, nowhere already contain the negative, so the verb stays positive: I saw nothing, not I didn't see nothing.

The verb after them is always singular: Everybody is here, Nothing is ready. In many languages the word for "everybody" is plural (Spanish todos, French tous, German alle), and that is misleading.

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Common learner errors

written for your language
1

Double negative

✗ I didn't see nobody → ✓ I didn't see anybody or I saw nobody. Spanish no vi a nadie, Italian non ho visto nessuno, Portuguese não vi ninguém, Greek, Polish and other Slavic languages need two negative words here; English allows only one per sentence. It is the same trap as with never in A1 #11, and here it catches learners most often. The same with nowhere: ✗ I can't find my keys nowhere → ✓ I can't find my keys anywhere.

2

A plural verb after everybody

✗ Everybody are here

✓ Everybody is here

Spanish todos están, French tous sont and German alle sind have a plural verb.

3

some- in a question

French quelqu'un and Italian qualcuno are the same in a statement and in a question, so learners ask Did you see somebody? The usual question takes any-: Did you see anybody? A question with some- is not a mistake, but it means that you expect the answer "yes" or that you are offering, as in A1 #15: Would you like something to drink?

Pronunciation

3 min

In these compound words the stress falls on the FIRST part: SOMEbody, ANYthing, NOwhere, EVERYone.

The second part is said weakly: -body → /bədi/, -thing → /θɪŋ/ with the same nasal sound /ŋ/ as in A1 #19.

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Text

3 min

Somebody called you this morning, but they didn't leave a message.

Did they say anything?

Nothing. I asked, but nobody answered.

Is there anybody in the office now?

No, everybody has gone home. There's nobody here.

I can't find my keys anywhere.

Reading aloud

Exercises

8–10 min

1. Gap fill.

  1. called you this morning
  2. Is there in the office?
  3. has gone home — the office is empty
  4. I asked, but answered
Show the answers
Somebody, anybody, Everybody, nobody.

2. Gap fill.

  1. Did they say ?
  2. I saw interesting yesterday
  3. There is in the fridge — it's empty
Show the answers
anything, something, nothing.

3. Error correction.

  1. I didn't see nobody.
  2. Everybody are here.
  3. I can't find my keys nowhere.
Show the answers
I didn't see anybody. / I didn't see anyone. / I saw nobody. / I saw no one.; Everybody is here.; I can't find my keys anywhere.

4. Matching.

  1. somewhere
  2. somebody
  3. something
Show the answers
`somewhere` — where?; `somebody` — who?; `something` — what?
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Summary

Covered

  • compound words with some- / any- / no- / every-
  • the some / any / no rule
  • no double negatives
  • a singular verb after everybody

Next — lesson 15: how people do things.

End of the core

The lesson counts as done once the exercises are done. Everything after this is optional.

Lesson 51

optional

Vocabulary for your deck

12 words
  • anywhere /ˈeniweə/ in or to any place (in questions and negatives)
  • anybody /ˈenibədi/ any person (in questions and negatives)
  • nobody /ˈnəʊbədi/ no person; not anybody
  • everybody /ˈevribədi/ all people
  • something /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/ a thing (you do not say which)
  • anything /ˈeniθɪŋ/ any thing (in questions and negatives)
  • nowhere /ˈnəʊweə/ in or to no place; not anywhere
  • everywhere /ˈevriweə/ in all places
  • message /ˈmesɪdʒ/ words that you send or leave for someone
  • key /kiː/ a small metal thing that opens a door
  • empty /ˈempti/ with nothing or nobody inside
  • ask /ɑːsk/ to say something because you want an answer

Writing

Four sentences about this morning, with four different compound words.

Example

Somebody called me this morning. They didn't say anything. There was nobody in the office at eight. Now everybody is here.

Checklist

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Practise this lesson in the other sections

Dictationbased on this lesson Write down what you hear. The check shows every word that differs, and how. Write the dictation Reading aloudbased on this lesson Read the lesson text aloud — speech recognition highlights the words it did not catch. Read the text aloud Reading and listeningA1–C1 Texts at every level with comprehension questions; the transcript opens after you answer. Try it

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