not anything還是not something

一般認為，something 用于肯定句，anything 用于否定句或疑問句，但請看下面的題：

“If you want a necklace, I’ll buy one for you at once.” “Oh, no. A necklace is not _________ that I need most.

A. anything              B. something           C. nothing               D. everything

【分析】此題容易誤選A，機械地套用以下規則：something 用于肯定句，anything 用于否定句或疑問句。當然此規則在通常情況下是有效的，但此句不屬通常用法。此題的最佳答案應是B，something 在此的意思不是“某種東西”，而是指“那種東西”或“這種東西”，即心中最想要的那種東西(相當于 the thing)。同樣地，下面幾題的最佳答案也是 something，而不是 anything：

(1) It’s not _________ that we want to talk about; let’s change the subject.

A. anything               B. something             C. nothing                 D. everything

(2) It’s not _________ I enjoy; I do it purely out of a sense of duty.

A. anything               B. something             C. nothing                 D. everything

(3) Self-control is not _________ that comes with your birth.

A. anything               B. something             C. nothing                 D. everything

(4) This is not _________ that would disturb me anyway.

A. anything               B. something             C. nothing                 D. everything