Word Choice – ‘Anyone’ vs ‘Someone’: Which One to Use?

pronounsquestionsword-choice

  • Has someone seen my bag?

  • Has anyone seen my bag?

Which one is grammatically correct and Why?

Which one should I use at this place?

Can you give some more examples?

Best Answer

Agree with pmusser - they're both correct.

However any is a Negative Polarity Item, whereas some is not. Also, when you say "Has someone seen my bag" you actually mean at least one from the group has seen your bag. On the other hand, "Has anyone seen my bag" is a general addressing.

To make 'someone/anyone' clearer, think about these sentences -

Someone can do it - at least one person can do it.
Anyone can do it - any person (or better everyone) can do it.

More examples as you asked are here. See Travis' answer in the same, which says:

In my opinion, the big difference between "someone" and "anyone" is that "someone" refers to some person, and that person is specific, even though it may not be known, while "anyone" refers to some person, and all people are equally interchangeable as said individual.

Related Topic