How to teach some and any to your ESL student

The use of some and any is an important concept for your beginner ESL students to grasp…

The good news is that the rules around the use of some and any are quite explicit. We suggest that you tackle the concept after your students become comfortable with the concept of countable and uncountable nouns, and expressions of quantity.
We have two lessons covering some and any that are ready for you to tackle the grammar use with your students. Each lesson contains a significant bank of practice examples designed to solidify the concepts for your students.
You can find our some and any lesson plans (N10.1 – Some-Any -1 and N10.2 – Some-Any- 2) here.

Lesson 1: N10.1 – Some-Any – 1

We begin with a review of the distinction between the use of some and a/an with countable and uncountable nouns. After you are comfortable that your student has grasped these basics, we move on to the distinction between the use of some and any in positive (some) and negative (any) sentences with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns. We finalize the lesson with the introduction of some and any in question forms. The distinction is that some is used in offers and requests and any is used in most other question forms:

Lesson 2: N10.2 – Some-Any – 2

In our second lesson we review and provide further practice of the rules around the use of some and any (sentences and questions). We then introduce the use of some and any without a noun (Can I have some?). We also provide image heavy exercises that cover all the uses of some and any (and a/an). The conclusion of our lesson provides your student with the opportunity to use freer practice by describing pictures:

We hope that our lessons are helpful for your ESL students. We would love to hear feedback from your personal adventures in teaching some and any!