She hasn't said (anything, nothing) about her accident.
I think anything
Hardly (anything,nothing) pleases him.
I think anything
There aren't (any,no) pears in the supermarket.
I think any
All correct.
To determine whether to use "anything" or "nothing" in the first two sentences, you can consider the context of the sentence.
In the sentence "She hasn't said (anything, nothing) about her accident," if the intention is to convey that she has not provided any information at all about her accident, then "nothing" would be the appropriate choice. On the other hand, if the intention is to imply that she hasn't said anything specific or detailed about her accident, but may have mentioned it briefly or in passing, then "anything" would be the better option.
Similarly, in the sentence "Hardly (anything, nothing) pleases him," if the intent is to suggest that there is almost nothing that can satisfy or make him happy, then "anything" is the correct choice. However, if the purpose is to emphasize that he is rarely pleased by anything at all, then "nothing" would be more suitable.
Regarding the last sentence "There aren't (any, no) pears in the supermarket," both "any" and "no" are appropriate choices, but they convey slightly different meanings.
- "There aren't any pears in the supermarket" suggests that there is a lack of pears in the supermarket, but it does not necessarily imply that there should be pears available.
- "There are no pears in the supermarket" states that there are no pears at all in the supermarket, suggesting that there should be pears, but they are completely absent.
Ultimately, the choice between "any" and "no" depends on the specific context and what you want to convey in the sentence.