Can you give me some/any paint?
Dear italki users,
Could you help me with these sentence, please?
The grammar rule says that it should be 'any' in questions:
- Can you give me any paint?
And 'some' is an affirmative sentence:
- I can give you some paint
But I've noticed that people often use both 'any' and 'some' in question. My guess is that they both can be used in questions but the meaning would be slightly different.
Something like:
Can you give me any paint? - Can you give me any amount of paint?
Can you give me some paint? - Con you give me some amount of paint?
Is my guess correct?

Question

Can you give me some/any paint?
Dear italki users, 
Could you help me with these sentence, please? 
The grammar rule says that it should be 'any' in questions:
- Can you give me any paint? 
And 'some' is an affirmative sentence:
- I can give you some paint
But I've noticed that people often use both 'any' and 'some' in question. My guess is that they both can be used in questions but the meaning would be slightly different. 
Something like:
Can you give me any paint? - Can you give me any amount of paint? 
Can you give me some paint? - Con you give me some amount of paint?
Is my guess correct?

Answer

The two are almost interchangeable. 'Can you give me any paint' is more said when you think the person has only a little paint to give, or you think he may be reluctant to give you some.

Answer

Must have been oversimplified, or maybe I just don't remember it correctly. Thank you for the link, it's a very good explanation.

Answer

Your rule is wrong or oversimplified.

google what is the difference between some and any?

Here is a readable and reasonably complete explanation:
https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-some-and-any.html

English Grammar in Use by Murphy and Practice English Usage by Swan are excellent reference books for questions like this.

Answer

This is a new rule to me. Where did you learn it from? It sounds like something invented by a non-native speaker. In real life English this rule does not exist.

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