Which phrase is correct and why? I think "something" is correct because we have a positive sentence not a negative nor a question. As i have seen from the internet (google search) the case with the "anything" is correct. Can anyone explain to me please why is that correct?
asked Jul 19, 2017 at 9:00
-
This depends on the context– marcellothearcaneCommented Jul 19, 2017 at 9:01
-
Is anything missing to understand the context ?– chaviaras michalisCommented Jul 19, 2017 at 9:06
-
1Yes, where are you saying this, and what do you want it to mean? Both are okay, depending on the situation.– marcellothearcaneCommented Jul 19, 2017 at 9:08
-
1Without context, I'd say they're both usable but "anything" is more idiomatic, ie more commonly used.– Max WilliamsCommented Jul 19, 2017 at 9:10
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
Too... to... is a structure which implies a negative. meaning I was too surprise (I can not say anything). hope this help.
The case with anything is correct.
Your phrase is in fact negative, since "I was too surprised to ..." roughly equates to "Because of my surprise I did not...".
According to Meriam-Webster Dictionary:
something means an unspecified thing
and:
anything means any thing whatever
Saying you were "too surprised to say something" technically means that there was a particular unspecified thing you did not say, when to be precise there were many possible things you might have said and you did not say any of them.
"I was too surprised to say anything" is more accurate, as not saying any thing whatever is equivalent to saying nothing at all.
