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NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:54:17 -0600
From: Egbert White <eggwhite@earthlink.net>
Newsgroups: alt.languages.english
Subject: Re: Use of the word "any"
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:53:53 -0800
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On Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:28:25 -0800, "Kenneth M. Lin"
<kenneth_m_lin@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>I was always taught that the word "any" should be followed by a singular
>noun unless you specify that it's plural, such as "any two persons can
>play." However, I have seen people saying "any questions" even though that
>any implies just one. Can someone enlighten me?
>
A dictionary can. For example, the on-line dictionary at m-w.com has,
among other definitions of the adjective 'any':
one, some, or all indiscriminately of whatever quantity
and for the pronoun 'any' it says in part:
any thing or things
--
Egbert White, | "I love Americans, but not when they try
Planet Earth | to talk French. What a blessing it is that
| that they never try to talk English."
| -- Saki's Mrs. Mebberley
|
|