somewhere or anywhere?

English grammar and usage issues

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cassia
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Posts: 2
Joined: 27 May 2005, 13:58

somewhere or anywhere?

Unread post by cassia »

Would you say (a) "I don't think I'll go somewhere" or (b) " I don't think I 'll go anywhere"?
I have learned that with a negative sentence you use anywhere. But, here the negation is in the main clause not in the dependent one, so is (b) still gramatically correct ?
Both seem correct. What do you think?
Paula
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Posts: 9
Joined: 31 May 2004, 15:30

Somewhere or anywhere

Unread post by Paula »

Hi Cassia,

only the second sentence is correct. This is because there is still a negative meaning in the setence;

Paula
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schetin
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Joined: 13 Sep 2005, 17:50

Unread post by schetin »

Hi Cassia,

I suggest you don't rely too much on what is correct to say. Usually it's a matter of what you mean to say. In a certain context it could be that "somewhere" would sound better than "anywhere" even in a negative clause. For example, "I didn't say the book is somewhere around. In fact, I don't think it's anywhere around."

Regards,

Slava
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