determinersnegative-polarity-itemsquestionssome-any
I'm wondering why I always hear "some" in questions, although according to English grammar there should always be "any". At least the one I'm looking at uses "some". For example:
Why are some organizations using X?
Are there any organizations using X?
Is it due to the different nature of these questions? Open-ended vs. closed-ended?
A few options, some admittedly phrases and also various forms:
The transition point was about a century ago
Note that if we substitute a pronoun (I, he, they) for "why", the transition point comes much later (1980 for "I") – or hasn't even happened yet (all other pronouns). I can't explain why that is, except by pointing out that this very sentence is an increasingly typical usage. Maybe we all tend to be a bit less formal when introducing our own selves into the text.
It's only my opinion, but I think can't (similarly, let's) are examples of grammaticalisation. The contracted form has effectively taken on a "life of its own", leading to a situation where OP is prepared to accept that there may be contexts where can't is "grammatical", but "cannot" (or the equivalent "can not") wouldn't be valid.
Using cannot / can not might be a bit stilted in many contexts now we're so used to seeing the contracted form, but I don't think it's ever ungrammatical.
Best Answer
It is true that in general in English, 'some' is replaced by 'any' in negative and interrogative contexts. But it is not as simple as that: 'Some' can be used in interrogative contexts, and is then 'marked' as linguists say: choosing it rather than the default conveys some meaning.
I would disagree with kajaco about just what nuance is conveyed: to me the choice of 'some' rather than 'any' is meant to exclude 'all'. So
Why are any organisations using X
may be appropriate even if all organisation are doing so (though the question is perhaps a little unlikely if everybody is doing so); whereas
Why are some organisations using X
implies "and others are not".