Meaning & use
never amount to anything
Last updated
Meaning
phraseidiom
To never become successful or achieve anything important in life.
Grammar: Used with a subject like 'he', 'she', or 'they': He'll never amount to anything.
Patterns
- someone will never amount to anything
- someone never amounted to anything
- tell someone they'll never amount to anything
His teacher told him he would never amount to anything, but he proved her wrong.
She worried that without a degree she would never amount to anything.
They said the young man would never amount to anything, yet he became a successful entrepreneur.
Common combinations
- never amount to anything
- If you don't try, you'll never amount to anything.
- amount to nothing
- Without hard work, his plans amounted to nothing.
- amount to something
- She worked hard and finally amounted to something.
Synonyms and how they differ
- never succeed
- Never succeed is more direct and less idiomatic; 'never amount to anything' often carries a stronger judgment about a person's whole life.
- go nowhere
- Go nowhere can refer to plans or projects, while 'never amount to anything' is usually about a person's worth or achievement.
Opposites
Commonly confused: never amount to anything or amount to?
never amount to anything vs amount to
Amount to can also mean 'to be equal to' or 'to total', as in 'The bill amounts to $100'. The idiom 'never amount to anything' is a fixed phrase about personal success.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'never amount to anything' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The idiom is used about a person's success in life, as in option 1. Option 0 uses 'amount to' in a literal money sense, which is different. Options 2 and 3 are unnatural because the idiom is not used for everyday tasks or projects.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “never amount to anything”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.