Is somebody at home?

[Anton Shepelev]

Hello, all

A colleague showed me a question from an English
grammar test where the reader should choose between
'somebody' and 'anybody':

Is somebody/anybody at home?

The implied answer is of course 'anybody', but I
wonder if 'somebody' isn't the correct choice in a
certain context. For example, I come home and,
finding the lights on, think: "Strange. Looks as
though somebody is at home." So I call out: "Is
somebody at home?"

--
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[Don Phillipson]

"Anton Shepelev" <anton.txt@g{oogle}mail.com> wrote in message
news:20150319175741.72fe7cd8218d6b7cdf81b0e7@g{oogle}mail.com...

> Hello, all
>
> A colleague showed me a question from an English
> grammar test where the reader should choose between
> 'somebody' and 'anybody':
>
> Is somebody/anybody at home?

This is not a test of grammar: in grammatical
function, these two nouns are identical. (They
differ in syntax, reflecting habitual usage.)
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

[Opinicus]

On Thu, 19 Mar 2015 17:57:41 +0300, Anton Shepelev
<anton.txt@g{oogle}mail.com> wrote:

> Is somebody/anybody at home?
>
>The implied answer is of course 'anybody', but I
>wonder if 'somebody' isn't the correct choice in a
>certain context. For example, I come home and,
>finding the lights on, think: "Strange. Looks as
>though somebody is at home." So I call out: "Is
>somebody at home?"

There are many contexts in which "Is somebody at home?" would be the
correct choice and "anybody" might even be wrong. For example you're
away from home and speaking on the phone to a repairman you've been
expecting for a long time. You tell him you're not at home but he
should come right over anyhow. He could reasonably be expected to ask
"Is somebody at home?" rather than "anybody".

This is a poorly-constructed test item in other words. As someone else
noted, this is not a matter of grammar: both questions are
grammatically correct. It's a matter of context and inference:
"somebody" suggests that the speaker is expecting a "yes" answer to
his question.

--
Bob
www.kanyak.com

[Anton Shepelev]

Opinicus:

> There are many contexts in which "Is somebody at
> home?" would be the correct choice and "anybody"
> might even be wrong. For example you're away from
> home and speaking on the phone to a repairman
> you've been expecting for a long time. You tell
> him you're not at home but he should come right
> over anyhow. He could reasonably be expected to
> ask "Is somebody at home?" rather than "anybody".
>
> This is a poorly-constructed test item in other
> words. As someone else noted, this is not a matter

> of grammar: both questions are grammatically cor-

> rect. It's a matter of context and inference:
> "somebody" suggests that the speaker is expecting
> a "yes" answer to his question.

I thank you and that other poster -- Don Phillipson.
It's time learned to know grammar from syntax.

[Patok]

Anton Shepelev wrote:
> Opinicus:

>>
>> This is a poorly-constructed test item in other
>> words. As someone else noted, this is not a matter
>> of grammar: both questions are grammatically cor-
>> rect. It's a matter of context and inference:
>> "somebody" suggests that the speaker is expecting
>> a "yes" answer to his question.
>
> I thank you and that other poster -- Don Phillipson.
> It's time learned to know grammar from syntax.

It's time indeed, since syntax is part of grammar. What you probably need is
know syntax from semantics. (Heh. See how wrong my last sentence is, and still
quite clear.)

--
"Питат ли ме дей зората - шат на патката главата."

[Anton Shepelev]

[Is somebody/anybody at home?]

Patok:
> Opinicus:
> > Anton Shepelev:
> >
> > > This is a poorly-constructed test item in oth-

> > > er words. As someone else noted, this is not a

> > > matter of grammar: both questions are grammat-
> > > ically correct. It's a matter of context and
> > > inference: "somebody" suggests that the speak-
> > > er is expecting a "yes" answer to his ques-

> > > tion.
> >
> > I thank you and that other poster -- Don
> > Phillipson. It's time learned to know grammar
> > from syntax.
>
> It's time indeed, since syntax is part of grammar.

> What you probably need is know syntax from seman-
> tics.

Don Phillipson wrote that 'somebody' and 'anybody'
are identical in grammatical function but differ in
syntax. And if syntax *is* part of grammar then one
should assume that grammatical function embraces
syntanical, which leads to a contraditcion...

> (Heh. See how wrong my last sentence is, and still
> quite clear.)

I think it's wanting 'to' before 'know'.