Sign inAnything vs. Nothing
'Nothing' and 'anything' are two indefinite pronouns that have similar meanings. But they are used differently in a sentence. Let's check these two out!
What Is Their Main Difference?
While both 'anything' and 'nothing' are indefinite pronouns used to describe absence or lack of something, 'anything' is used to refer to a general set without any restrictions or limitations, while 'nothing' refers to the absence or lack of something specific.
Anything
'Anything' refers to an open, unlimited set of things that can be either seen or unseen. It is used to indicate that there is no specific restriction or limitation on what that thing might be. 'Anything' is typically used in questions and negative sentences, and takes a singular verb.
Can I do
You can do
We don't have
Negative Sense
We can use anything in sentences that have a negative sense, but not necessarily a negative verb.
He hardly said
Nothing
'Nothing' refers to the absence of anything, or to the lack of something that was expected or desired. It is often used in situations where there is a specific absence or lack of something. For example:
I have
He said
Double Negation
'Nothing' has a negative meaning. Therefore, it is used in affirmative sentences. If we use 'nothing' with negative verbs, we have made a 'double negation' error.
cannot be done here.)
Differences
'Anything' is a pronoun that refers to an open, unlimited set of things, without any specific restrictions or limitations, and can be used in both positive and negative sentences. It is also commonly used in questions.
On the other hand, 'nothing' is a pronoun that refers to the absence of something and is often used as a negative maker, which means it is only used with an affirmative verb. Furthermore, it is not typically used in questions.
I don't see
I see
Comments
You might also like
Anything vs. Everything
'Anything' and 'everything' are both pronouns that are used to refer to something. They have fairly similar spelling and structure, but what's their difference?
Anything vs. Any Thing
Are 'anything' and 'any thing' both acceptable words in standard English? If yes, are they interchangeable? If no, which one is correct?
Anything vs. Something
In this part, we are going to discuss the meanings and uses of 'something' and 'anything'. We will look at their similarities and differences.
Anything vs. Anyone
'Anything' and 'anyone' are two indefinite pronouns that have somehow similar spelling but they refer to different things. Let's see their differences.
