written by Lilian Ndongmo. ESL Teacher

Anymore

Meaning  1: a definitive and permanent stop of an action, a thing or a person

Synonym: any longer

Example:  Janet does not work for Coca Cola inc. anymore.

                     I don’t want that black cat anymore.

The first sentence means that Janet used to work for Coca Cola inc. in the past, but at the time this sentence is being said, she has stopped working there. The same applies for the second.

Usage:

1. Position of “anymore” at the end of the sentence.

This is the easiest way to use anymore in a sentence.

Example:  I don’t want to go school anymore.

2. Make sure your verb is in the negative form

Example: I don’t want to see you anymore.

                      She doesn’t drink coffee anymore.

3.  When your verb is in the positive form, make sure you have a word or words which have a negative connotation.

Example: Nobody wants to talk about that situation anymore. Please just forget it.

In this sentence, the verb “want” is in the positive form, but the word “nobody” is negative.

4. You can put “anymore” in the middle of your sentence.

Example: What I don’t want to eat anymore is junk food.  (maybe because it’s bad for your health)

 The couple doesn’t want to have anymore babies. (This sentence can also have a slightly different mean. See meaning 2 below)

Meaning 2: Not wanting an additional quantity or number of something

 Let’s look at the example below:

                                   I don’t want any more chocolate.

This sentence means that I don’t want additional chocolate now, probably because I have eaten too much already.  But if you offer me chocolate next week, I might accept. It doesn’t mean that I will never eat chocolate again.

Here, “any” is the adverb, and “more” is the adjective. And I split the word in order to distinguish it from “anymore” (one word) and make it easier for learners to recognize both words.

Spelling: Anymore (one word) and any more (two words) generally have the same meaning, and they can be used interchangeably in sentences. 

Example: She doesn’t live here anymore.  She doesn’t live here any more.

However, it would be easier for you to split the word when you use meaning 2 above. Where anymore and any more have the same meaning, it is more common to use anymore (one word).

Can you figure this sentence out?

I don’t buy shoes anymore because I don’t need any more shoes.

Check out the meaning and usage of No more in the next post.