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Are both these sentences grammatical?

  • Have you ever lost some money?
  • Have you ever lost any money?

If so, what's the difference in meaning between them?

I've read some is used when offering something as in

  • "Would you like some pizza?"

1 Answer 1

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Both are grammatical, and they mean almost the same thing. A careful user might use “lost any” to mean “any amount, no matter how trivial” and use “lost some” to mean “any amount that was not trivial.” But 90% of native speakers would not consciously notice that distinction.

You are offered “some” pizza because you are being offered enough to be meaningful.

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    If someone said 'Have you lost some (or any) money?' I would immediately think that they had found a mislaid or dropped banknote. Aug 30, 2022 at 19:32
  • @MichaelHarvey I'd say it depends on context - if someone came up to me on the street and asked that, I'd think the same as you. If we'd just spent an hour discussing the stock market, I'd interpret it quite differently. (And OP included 'ever', which changes the meaning compared to your sentence without it)
    – Toby Y.
    Aug 31, 2022 at 0:39

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