anything

anything — pronoun

1. the form used in place of "something" when the sentence is a question, a negativ

1.pronounA1
Definition

the form used in place of "something" when the sentence is a question, a negative, a conditional with if or whether, or comes after verbs like prevent, avoid, or ban.

Example

Is there anything in the fridge that Imani could eat for lunch?

questions: is there anything ...?

Lior opened the drawer but did not find anything useful inside.

negatives: not ... anything

Common collocations
  • see anything
  • hear anything
  • find anything
  • do anything
  • buy anything
Synonyms
  • something

    used in positive statements; 'anything' replaces it in questions and negatives

  • aught

    very formal or literary; rarely used in modern speech

Antonyms
  • nothing

    the opposite when the sentence is negative: 'not anything' equals 'nothing'

Grammar Patterns

in questions: is/are there anything ...?

in negatives: not ... anything

after if/whether

after verbs of preventing or avoiding (prevent, ban, avoid)

Usage Note

Only this sense pairs with questions, negatives, conditional clauses, or verbs of preventing or avoiding. Compare sense 2, where anything appears in plain positive statements to mean 'no matter which'.

Common Mistakes

I bought anything for dinner.
I bought something for dinner.
in a plain positive statement use 'something'; 'anything' here belongs to questions, negatives, or conditionals.
Did you saw anything strange?
Did you see anything strange?
keep the base form of the verb after 'did'.

2. any thing, event, action, or situation at all, when the speaker does not care wh

2.pronounA1
Definition

any thing, event, action, or situation at all, when the speaker does not care which one is chosen or wants to include the whole range of possibilities.

Example

Gita is so hungry he will eat anything in the kitchen tonight.

anything as 'no matter which thing'

Coach Diego promised Bao that anything is possible if he trains every morning.

anything as subject in a positive statement

Common collocations
  • anything new
  • anything special
  • anything else
  • anything is possible
  • do anything for
  • anything you like
Synonyms
  • whatever

    stronger free-choice flavour; often introduces a clause: 'eat whatever you want'

  • everything

    covers the full set as a whole, while 'anything' picks one item from the open set

Antonyms
  • nothing

    free-choice opposite: 'will eat anything' vs 'will eat nothing'

Grammar Patterns

anything + adjective (anything new, anything special)

anything + relative clause (anything that ...)

anything + to-infinitive (anything to read)

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense lives in positive statements and signals free choice (no matter which), whereas sense 1 only appears in questions, negatives, and conditionals. Often followed by a postmodifier — an adjective, a to-infinitive, or a relative clause.

Common Mistakes

I want anything else to drink.
I want something else to drink.
when you have a specific (but unnamed) drink in mind, use 'something'; 'anything' opens the choice to every option.
She will eat anything food.
She will eat anything.
'anything' already stands for the noun; do not add 'food' or 'thing' after it.
Idioms

anything but

idiom

Used to say that something is the opposite of what is mentioned.

The movie was anything but boring; it kept us on edge.

Was the exam easy? Anything but.

as happy, quick, etc. as anything

idiom

Very happy, quick, etc.

After winning the prize, Mia was as happy as anything.

The delivery was as quick as anything, arriving in two hours.

like anything

idiom

Very much or very hard.

The children were laughing like anything at the clown.

She studied like anything for the final exam.

not anything like as good, much, etc.

idiom

Used to emphasize that something is not as good, not enough, etc.

The sequel was not anything like as good as the original.

He didn't earn anything like as much as his brother.

not for anything

idiom

Definitely not, under no circumstances.

I wouldn't miss your wedding for anything.

She wouldn't sell her house for anything.

or anything

idiom

Or another thing of a similar type.

If you need a ride or anything, just call me.

Did he say something rude or anything?

anything — adverb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: pronoun/2

In free-choice contexts, 'anything' picks one item from an open set without caring which: 'I'll eat anything.' 'Everything' covers the full set as a whole — 'I'll eat everything' means every dish on the table will be finished, which is much stronger. 'Whatever' carries an even more relaxed, dismissive feel and usually leads into a clause: 'eat whatever you like.' 'Something' is the positive-statement counterpart but points to one specific (though unnamed) item the speaker has in mind: 'I bought something for you' (one gift, already chosen) versus 'You can buy anything for me' (any gift will do). Compare: 'Gita will try anything once' (open-minded), 'Gita will try everything once' (he will work through the whole list), 'Gita will try whatever you suggest' (he defers to your choice).

anything ↗everything ↗whatever ↗something ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • anything new
  • anything special
  • anything else
  • anything wrong

Adverbs

  • hardly anything
  • almost anything
  • absolutely anything
  • practically anything

Phrases

Prepositions

  • anything for
  • anything from ... to
  • anything about
  • anything with

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

Formed in Old English by joining 'any' (Old English 'ǣnig', meaning 'one of', from Proto-Germanic *ainagaz) with 'thing' (Old English 'þing', originally 'matter, affair, assembly'). The compound 'ǣnig þing' was at first written as two words; over the Middle English period it fused into a single pronoun and adverb, parallel to the parallel formations 'something', 'nothing', and 'everything'. The adverb sense 'at all' grew out of the pronoun under heavy negation in the early modern period.