Chapter 3 限定词（二）：数量限定词与个体限定词
3.2 数量限定词（二）：some/any
3.2 数量限定词（二）：some/any
一、与名词的搭配关系
从与名词的搭配来看，some和any均可以与不可数名词及可数名词复数连用，表示“一些”。some一般用在肯定句中，而any一般用在否定句中。例如：
1 Clint is busy. He always has some work to do. But John is lazy. He never does any work. 克林特很忙，他总是有工作要做。但是约翰很懒，他什么也不干。
2 Last night I was very hungry and I wanted some food to eat. But now I am not hungry and I don't want any food to eat. 昨晚我很饿，想吃点东西。但是现在我不饿了，什么也不想吃。
3 I need some medicine to cure my cough. 我需要吃点药治好咳嗽。
4 I want to buy some computer books. 我想买几本计算机书。
5 I don't have any friends here. 我在这里没有朋友。
在疑问句中，我们多数情况下用any，但是在表示我们期待一个正面的回答或要鼓励对方说“是”时，要在疑问句中用some。例如：
6 Have you got any medicine to cure your cough? 你吃治疗咳嗽的药了吗？
7 Would you like to give me some advice? 你想给我提点建议吗？
8 Can I have some more wine? 我能再喝点酒吗？
除了上述与不可数名词及复数名词搭配外，some和any都可以与单数名词搭配，此时均有特殊的含义和用法。具体详述如下。
二、特殊用法一：any与单数名词搭配
当any的后面接单数名词时，它的意思是“无论哪一个，任何一个”，此时可用于任何类型的句子。比如用于下面的肯定句中：
9 You can catch any bus. They all go to the railway station. 你坐哪辆公共汽车都行，它们都到火车站。
10 You can ask any person over there. They all can tell you. 你问那边的哪个人都行，他们都会告诉你。
三、特殊用法二：some与单数名词搭配
some可与单数可数名词连用，这时的some表示不确定的“某一个”的意思。例如：
11 Of the many ways of getting to prison, Soapy thought the best was to eat a big meal at some good restaurant and then tell the manager that he doesn't have money to pay.
妙语点睛 这是欧·亨利（O’ Henry）的小说《警察与赞美诗》中的句子。我们看到，这里some的后面接的是一个单数名词restaurant，表示“某一家餐馆”。显然，他不会同时在“几个餐馆”吃饭，所以不说some restaurants。
再看其他例句：
12 A mirage is an atmospheric optical illusion of some object. 海市蜃楼就是某个物体的奇特的光学幻影。
13 Some person at the gate is asking to see you. 门口有个人要见你。
下面这个句子出自英国电影《四个婚礼和一个葬礼》（Four Weddings and a Funeral）：
14 I always just hoped that I'd meet some nice friendly girl, like the look of her, hope the look of me didn't make her physically sick, then pop the question and, um, settle down and be happy. It worked for my parents.
我一直希望能遇见某个为人很好、长相也不错的姑娘，希望我的长相也不会让她讨厌。然后我就向她求婚，嗯，然后我们结婚，从此过上幸福的日子。我的父母就是这样的。
（注：pop the question是一个俚语，表示“向某人求婚”的意思。）
值得注意的是，some的这一特殊用法可表示强烈的感情色彩，它往往暗示缺乏兴趣，甚至是蔑视的态度。请看例句：
15 I don't want to spend my life in some lonely little village. 我可不想把自己的一生消磨在一个偏僻的小山村里。
16 A: Two buttons have been off my new jacket.
B: Some bargain.
17 A: Mike promised he'd help on this rush job. But he never showed up.
B: Some friend he is.
2007年4月16日，美国弗吉尼亚理工大学枪击案的歹徒韩国人赵承熙（Cho Seung-Hui）杀死32人，然后自杀，制造了美国历史上一起惨重的校园枪击案（killing 32 people and committing suicide in the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history）。他事先自拍了一段录像，后来他把这段自制录像寄到全国广播公司新闻部（NBC News）。在这段令人毛骨悚然的录像中他说：
18 This is it. This is where it all ends. End of the road. What a life it was. Some life.
妙语点睛 这里他说some life，显示了他对人生的绝望和对生命的蔑视，这导致他枪杀了32人。
下面这个对话来自著名电影《阿甘正传》（Forrest Gump），阿甘的妈妈带着小阿甘去医院检查智商后，他妈妈和医生希尔考克（Mr. Hillcock）之间的对话：
19 Mr. Hillcock: I'm going to show you something, Mrs. Gump. Now here is normal. Forrest is right here. The State requires a minimum IQ of 80 to attend public school, Mrs. Gump. He's going to have to go to a special school. He'll be just fine.
Mrs. Gump: What does normal mean, anyway? He might be a bit on the slow side, but my boy, Forrest, is going to get the same opportunities as everyone else. He's not going to some special school to learn how to retread tires. We're talking about 5 little points here. There must be something can be done.
妙语点睛 在some special school这个短语里，阿甘的妈妈用some来修饰一个单数名词school（一般来说some是要修饰复数名词的），这里的some就是一个特殊用法，在这里，它表示阿甘妈妈对“残障学校（special school）”不感兴趣，甚至是蔑视的态度，从而更加表明她要让儿子接受正式教育的决心。关于这个句子的更多解释，详见第七章“将来时态”。
四、特殊用法三：some与数词连用
在限定复数名词时，some的后面还可以先接一个数词，然后再接名词，此时some表示“大约”的意思。这一用法常常暗指这是一个给人以深刻印象的很大的数字。例如：
20 Some 1,500 passengers and crew died aboard the Titanic when it sank on April 14,1912 after hitting an iceberg. It lies at a depth of some 4,000 meters, some 640 kilometers south of Newfoundland, Canada.
妙语点睛 这里共有三处some与数词连用，都是为了强调这些数字是相当可观的。
21 For “good”, the Chinese worked out a combination of “woman” and “child”. Once this combination process had started, there was no limit to it. The Chinese still use the system today, having developed it to the point of producing some forty thousand combined characters out of a few hundred original pictures of concrete objects.
妙语点睛 这里的some与数词forty thousand连用，以强调该数字是巨大的，翻译时可以译成“多达四万”来加以体现。
用some或any填空。
1. Last night I was very hungry and I wanted ______ food to eat. But now I am not hungry and I don't want ______ food to eat.
2. I need ______ medicine to cure my cough.
3. I want to buy ______ computer books.
4. I don't have ______ friends here.
5. A: I thought this shirt was a great deal but I washed it once and it's shrunk so much that I can't wear it.
B: ______ bargain. You should ask for a refund.
6. A: Mike promised he'd help on this rush job. But he never showed up.
B: ______ friend he is.
7. You can catch ______ bus. They all go to the railway station.
8. ______ 1,500 passengers and crew died aboard the Titanic when it sank on April 14,1912 after hitting an iceberg. It lies at a depth of ______ 4,000 meters, ______ 640 kilometers south of Newfoundland, Canada.