I myself am + adjective or noun?

[Nola]

Hi Amy
Could you please tell me the difference between:
Would you like some tea?
Would you like any tea?

We usually use some with the quantities in the sentences which are affirmative not negative or questions.
e.g. I’d like some more tea, please.
So What about the previous example of using some with the questions?

Nola

[Yankee]

Hi Nola

Basically, the word some sounds more positive than any, and it is quite typical to use some rather than any when offering something to someone (even though the offer may be in the form of a question). Using ‘some’ in your sentence encourages an affirmative response.

The word ‘any’ is used much more often than ‘some’ in interrogative and negative sentences (and also in IF clauses), and this can a helpful guideline – especially for beginners. However, it is not an iron-clad “rule”.
.

[Molly]

However, it is not an iron-clad “rule”.

Indeed not.

some = a part, a restriction
any = ALL or NONE, and no restriction

[Molly]

Would you like some tea?
Would you like any tea?

The latter is an open question and wholly grammatical. It’s true the listener would expect to hear the “some” version, so if a speaker used the “any” version, the listener would probably ask, mentally, why - i.e. the “any” version is what we call “marked”. Figuring out why the speaker would use the “any” version is normally done in context. Maybe the speaker expects the answer to be “no” or he/she hasn’t given any thought to the type of tea he’s/she’s offering or…, etc.

[Nola]

Thank you all for your help.

Nola

[Nessie]

@Yankee

Hi Nessie

It seems to me that either you have misinterpreted a “rule”, or the “rule” that you’ve been taught is simply bogus.

[color=violet]I don’t know, Amy. I’ve been taught this rule since I started learning English, and if I hadn’t seen native speakers use “no +plural noun + plural verb”, perhaps I would never know which is the correct usage. :roll: :roll:

Basically, the following two sentences mean exactly the same thing, and both are grammatically correct. The version using ‘no’ places the negation on the word ‘flowers’ instead of negating the verb:

• There aren’t any flowers in my garden.
• There are no flowers in my garden.

You can also use ‘no + singular noun’ or ‘not any + singular noun’, but the most common usage would be with singular uncountable nouns:

• There isn’t any water in the pool.
• There is no water in the pool.
  .
  .
  In some situations, ‘no + singular countable noun’ and ‘not any + singular countable noun’ can also be used. Generally speaking, however, this would be restricted to emphatic usage. In other words, this would place more emphasis than usual on the idea of ‘not a single one of those things’.

[color=violet]Thanks Amy, I got it now
.

[Prezbucky]

Why is “myself” included in the first place?

IMO, “myself” is overrated and overused – usually redundant or replaceable by “I” or “me”.

But opinions are like bleep-bleeps – everyone’s got one.

[MrPedantic]

@prezbucky

Why is “myself” included in the first place?

One possible context:

A brother and sister are separated when very young, after their father’s murder. Their mother marries the murderer. The boy is sent overseas.

Later, he returns secretly to avenge his father. While standing at his father’s grave in thought, a young girl approaches. She looks at him curiously. They fall into conversation.

Guardedly, he attempts to extract information from her about his mother’s whereabouts. She begins to suspect who he might be and questions him in her turn. At last he mentions that he is looking for his sister. At which point she says:

1. I myself am your sister.

MrP

[Molly]

A brother and sister are separated when very young, after their father’s murder. Their mother marries the murderer. The boy is sent overseas.

Told you, Mr P spends his nights with his head buried in the world of fiction. :lol:

[Molly]

@prezbucky

Why is “myself” included in the first place?

IMO, “myself” is overrated and overused – usually redundant or replaceable by “I” or “me”.

Not here, right?

Mr XP: I’m afraid I find myself rather out of my depth.

…

XP Jnr.: As I trust myself, I don’t need to write it down.

…

Mrs XP: Do I make myself clear, young man?

,

And how about here, Prezb?

Myself, I can’t bear to see him treated that way.

Would you replace that with “I” or “me”?

[MrPedantic]

@Molly

A brother and sister are separated when very young, after their father’s murder. Their mother marries the murderer. The boy is sent overseas.

Told you, Mr P spends his nights with his head burried in the world of fiction.

And did you recognise it, old chap?

MrP

[Nessie]

@Molly

A brother and sister are separated when very young, after their father’s murder. Their mother marries the murderer. The boy is sent overseas.

Told you, Mr P spends his nights with his head buried in the world of fiction. :lol:

[color=violet]I think MrP has a very imaginative mind and that’s quite cool, not to mention it’s especially helpful to such an ESL teacher as him. It helps us learners get the point quickly and clearly
Thank you very much one more time.

[Yankee]

@Molly

Myself, I can’t bare to see him treated that way.

Would you replace that with “I” or “me”?

The naked truth is that I’d probably replace something else in that sentence first, and then mention that spell-checkers don’t catch everything.
.

[Molly]

@Yankee

@Molly

Would you replace that with “I” or “me”?

The naked truth is that I’d probably replace something else in that sentence first, and then mention that spell-checkers don’t catch everything.
.

And after you’d beaten the spell-checker and the non-native: Would you replace myself with “I” or “me”?