# any question/questions



## ander1234

Hi!
*Feel free to text me with any question/questions*
I have come across this sentence this evening,and I didn't know which one to choose(question or questions).

I know that if the sentence were negative or interrogative,the correct answer(or at least the most natural one)would be questions,but as it is an affirmative one,and,if I am right,"any" in affirmative sentences has the meaning of "no matter which",according to wordreference we should use any+singular noun in afirmative sentences

http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=any

However,I have done an exact search with google and I've got just 3 results for "question"(http://www.google.es/search?source=ig&hl=es&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ESES295&=&q=%22feel+free+to+text+me+with+any+question%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=) and 48 for "questions"(http://www.google.es/search?source=...=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=6f1de62a8217f2cf)

What do you think about it?Which one sounds better?I have always used any+singular noun in afirmative sentences,but I am a bit confused now....

Thanks in advance!


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## LauraK

I can't explain the grammar, but "Feel free to text me with any questions" definitely sounds better to me....


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## JB

I, too, am unsure of the rule.  But I might say:
*Call me if you have A question*.    "Any question" just sounds funny, although it might be valid.
The more common usage (EEUU) is "any questions" in my experience.  Maybe another forero will quote for you a formal rule. 

"Are there any questions" = ¿Alguien tiene pregunta?


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## LauraK

There are lots of cases that come to mind with countable nouns sounding better in the plural than in the singular with "any" in this sense:_
Do you have any pieces of pie left for me?
We'll take any ideas you have about how to improve the article.
If you have any books related to the topic, bring them to class._ Etc....


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## obz

I agree with JB, strange does it sound "any question".

_"Call me with any questions you may have"._

Yeah, it still sounds better in plural. Though thinking about it, even though it is not a question, it works in the ambiguous or uncertain tense that "any" works with... which is generally plural.

_ "Do you have any cats, hats, tires, fires, mice, etc" _
They all run in plural.

However at the beginning of a sentence, in a more certain, assertive, authoritative tense, singularity is fine.
_
"Any question can be answered..."
"Any child can learn to swim"
"Any wall can be torn down" etc_


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## ander1234

But,for instance,if we take the example of wordreference("take any book you want"),it sounds to you better in the singular than in the plural,doesn't it?
If so,then,as you say,there are some words in afirmative sentences that sound better in singular and others in plural?


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## obz

ander1234 said:


> But,for instance,if we take the example of wordreference(_*"take any book you want*"_),it sounds to you better in the singular than in the plural,doesn't it?
> If so,then,as you say,there are some words in *affirmative* sentences that sound better in singular and others in plural?



That is affirmative though, you know what books there are and are inviting the listener to take any one... no reason it couldn't be plural, if you wanted to offer this person multiple books I guess... though singular seems like the default.

I have to admit as well that I don't know the definitive rule either (or even that there is one), but thinking about various examples, it seems this way.


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## SevenDays

In an affirmative sentence, _any_ means “all:” If I say _any_ _question will do_, I mean that _all_ questions have an equal chance of sufficing, regardless of which one is actually provided. _Any_ can also mean “every:” If I say, _any question should be submitted by text_, I mean that _every_ question should be submitted by text. 
The interesting thing is that an affirmative sentence is always a declarative sentence, and in a declarative sentence _any_ can mean “of whatever kind.” 
Bottom line, it seems to me _feel free to text me any question_ and _feel free to text me any questions_ are equally valid; it depends if by _any_ you mean the plural “all” or the singular “of whatever kind.” Now, If I make myself available for answers, then I suppose the normal expectation is that you would have more than one question to ask, which is why_ feel free to text me any questions _seems to be preferred. 

Cheers


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## ander1234

Thank you Sevendays for your answer.Then,if I have understood correctly,the difference is this:

-It's more common to say "_take any book you want_" because you are expected to take just one book (coge el libro que quieras,pero se supone que vas a coger 1)(in this case we usually refer to "of whatever kind",not to "all").

-It's more natural _"feel free to ask me any questions" _because the one who says the sentence expects more than 1 question to be asked(Ask me all the questions you want)(In this case we usually refer to "all",not to "of whatever kind")

Am I right?


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## ander1234

But Sevendays,looking up the word _any_ in wordreference again,according to it, any with both meanings("of whatever kind/no matter which" and every/all)takes the singular form.

(no matter which): take ~ book you want llévate cualquier libro
(every, all): in ~ large school, you'll find that … en cualquier or todo colegio grande, verás que …


Then,according to wordreference,we should use the singular in both cases,shouldn't we?


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## kbck777

if the word "any" comes directly after a verb, i think the noun thats attached to it has to be in the plural, I can't think of any word where this is not the case (in this case "of" seperates the verb from "any". When standing alone you can use a singular (any book that is fiction is not true) (any dog that is not potty trained will urinate in it's home) But if its attached to a verb you must pluralize it (Do we have any books that are fiction) (Are there any dogs over there?) If its important to stress the singularity, you have to switch "any" to "a" this is only a guess though...


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## SevenDays

ander1234 said:


> But Sevendays,looking up the word _any_ in wordreference again,according to it, any with both meanings("of whatever kind/no matter which" and every/all)takes the singular form.
> 
> (no matter which): take ~ book you want llévate cualquier libro
> (every, all): in ~ large school, you'll find that … en cualquier or todo colegio grande, verás que …
> 
> 
> Then,according to wordreference,we should use the singular in both cases,shouldn't we?


 
Well, no. I think the dictionary is referring to _semantics_ (meaning); that is, _any_ has the same meaning as _every_ and_ all_. If I say, in _any_ large school, my meaning is the same as saying _all _and _every_ large school. The three are _semantically_ similar. However, _syntactically _(that is, the arrangement of words in a sentence), they are not equal: _any_ can go with singular and plural nouns (_any school can participate;_ _in any large school, you'll find that_; _are any school_*s*_ open today_?), _every _can only be followed by singular nouns (_in every large school, you'll find that_; _every school has a summer break_), and _all_ can only be followed by plural nouns (_all school_*s*_ must teach English; in all school*s,* you'll find that ..._). 

About your other message, yes, that's my understading of _any book(s)_ and _any question(s)_. I think it comes down to _expectations._ If I say, _take any book_, it is generally _understood_ that you take only one book, probably because it is quite likely that there is a limited amount of books available. On the other hand, it isn't logical to think there is only a "limited" number of questions you can think of; in fact, the opposite is reasonable: there is no limit as to how many questions one can think of. That's why it feels more natural to say _feel free to text me any question*s*_. But if by "_any_" we mean "_all_," (as the dictionary says) then I don't see why we couldn't use the singular: _text me any question (_but we need to keep in mind that the natives say: _it_ _sounds_ _odd)_. And just remember, if you choose "_all_," then, syntactically, the plural form must follow: _feel free to text me *all* question*s*_. 

I hope I'm not confusing you....
Saludos


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## ander1234

SevenDays said:


> But if by "_any_" we mean "_all_," (as the dictionary says) then I don't see why we couldn't use the singular: _text me any question (_but we need to keep in mind that the natives say: _it_ _sounds_ _odd)_.



You wanted to say if by "any" we mean "every",don't you?If by "any" we mean "all",we had to use the plural form,as you have also said in your post


Yes,I think I get what you mean.Although the meaning in the same for every and all,if we use "all" the sentence takes the plural form and if we use "every",the singular form.But this is the same that to say that you can choose whichever form you want,as the person who hears the sentence obviously doesn't know which form you have chosen(all or every),since both have the same meaning.

So I think that choosing one form or the other comes down to the answer expected,don't you think?


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## SevenDays

ander1234 said:


> You wanted to say if by "any" we mean "every",don't you?If by "any" we mean "all",we had to use the plural form,as you have also said in your post
> 
> 
> Yes,I think I get what you mean.Although the meaning in the same for every and all,if we use "all" the sentence takes the plural form and if we use "every",the singular form.But this is the same that to say that you can choose whichever form you want,as the person who hears the sentence obviously doesn't know which form you have chosen(all or every),since both have the same meaning.
> 
> So I think that choosing one form or the other comes down to the answer expected,don't you think?


 
Yes, to the question, and yes to your conclusion: that's how I see it. Perhaps the natives will give us a broader perspective.
Cheers


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## obz

SevenDays said:


> Yes, to the question, and yes to your conclusion: that's how I see it. Perhaps the natives will give us a broader perspective.
> Cheers



This, is the definitive explanation that you should pay attention to.



> *                                                if the word "any" comes directly after a verb, i think the noun thats  attached to it has to be in the plural*                   , I can't think of any word where  this is not the case (in this case "of" *separates* the verb from "any".  *When standing alone you can use a singular* (any book that is fiction is  not true) (any dog that is not potty trained will urinate in it's home)*  But if its attached to a verb you must pluralize it* (Do we have any  books that are fiction) (Are there any dogs over there?)* If its  important to stress the singularity, you have to switch "any" to "a"*  this is only a guess though. This is correct usage


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## SevenDays

obz said:


> This, is the definitive explanation that you should pay attention to.


 
But surely you can say:
If you *have* any *book* on English usage, please let me know.
If you *have* any *books* on English usage, please let me know.
The only difference, perhaps, is that the plural suggests I'm interested in or expecting that you have _more_ than one book on English usage.

Unless I'm mistaken...
Cheers


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## obz

SevenDays said:


> But surely you can say:
> If you *have* any *book* on English usage, please let me know.
> If you *have* any *books* on English usage, please let me know.



I would never say the first. But nothing is stopping you from saying it.... just sounds very unnatural and foreign to me.

The second is what I have said and heard my entire life.

As kbck777 said, the first one, I would say with "a" in place of "any". Assuming that singular emphasis is important.



SevenDays said:


> The only difference, perhaps, is that the plural suggests I'm interested in or expecting that you have _more_ than one book on English usage.



This may seem more logical, but I regret to inform you that languages aren't always logical, especially to the foreign ear.
As much as you may want it to make sense that way... it just is not how it is used. At least not in North American English, or any English I have ever heard.

(¿Han algunos libros?... no se dice... pero sería más lógico que se dijese así, debido a la pluralidad del sujeto, "libros" ¿no?..  A pesar de este lógico, simplemente no es el caso)


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## SevenDays

obz said:


> I would never say the first. But nothing is stopping you from saying it.... just sounds very unnatural and foreign to me.
> 
> The second is what I have said and heard my entire life.
> 
> As kbck777 said, the first one, I would say with "a" in place of "any". Assuming that singular emphasis is important.
> 
> 
> 
> This may seem more logical, but I regret to inform you that languages aren't always logical, especially to the foreign ear.
> As much as you may want it to make sense that way... it just is not how it is used. At least not in North American English, or any English I have ever heard.
> 
> (¿Han algunos libros?... no se dice... pero sería más lógico que se dijese así, debido a la pluralidad del sujeto, "libros" ¿no?.. A pesar de este lógico, simplemente no es el caso)


 
But that's just the point: there is a _grammatical reason_ for not using _han algunos libros_; it is an _impersonal construction_ and so the singular "hay" is used (and what follows is the direct object). Is there a _grammatical reason_ that rejects _If you have any book, _or_ feel free to text me any message_...? I think that's the question that has been lurking in the background throughout this thread, considering that several natives, including you, have stated uncertainty about a "definite" rule in this regard. But, as I already said, and it has already been established, it does sound unnatural, and perhaps we should leave it at that.
Cheers


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## obz

http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/Determiners7c.cfm


> _*ANY in              interrogative sentences*_
> a. Do you have _*any* _friends in London?
> b. Have they got _*any* _children?
> c. Do you want _*any*_ groceries              from the shop?
> d. Are there _*any* _problems with your work?





> *ANY*can also be used in positive statements to mean _'*no matter            which*', '*no matter who*', '*no matter what*':_
> Examples:
> a. You can borrow            _*any* _of            my books.
> b. They can choose _*anything* _from            the menu.
> c. You may invite _*anybody* _to dinner, I don't mind.


http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/adjectives-determiners-some-any.htm


> We use *any* in a positive sentence when the real sense is negative.
> 
> 
> I refused to give them *any* money. (I did *not* give them any money)
> She finished the test without *any* difficulty. (she did *not* have any difficulty)


http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/some.htm


> In general, *any* is used in negative sentences and questions:
> 
> 
> 
> I didn't get *any* nice presents for Christmas this year.
> I looked in the cupboard but I couldn't find *any* biscuits.
> I don't need *any* help.
> She's so rude. No wonder she doesn't have *any* friends.
> I don't have *anything* to wear to the dance.
> I'm not hungry. I don't want *anything* to eat.
> Do you have *any* brothers or sisters?
> Did you catch *any* fish?
> Have you seen *any* good films recently?
> Does *anyone* know the answer?
> Are you going *anywhere* this Christmas?
> In fact, the use of some/any is a little more complicated. Following  are two common occasions when the above "rules" are "broken":
> 1. We can use *some* in questions when offering/requesting:
> 
> 
> 
> Would you like *some* more tea?
> Could I have *some* milk, please?
> Do you want *something* to eat?
> 2. We use *any* in positive sentences when we mean _it doesn't matter which .._:
> 
> 
> 
> You can come and ask for my help *any* time.
> Which book shall I read? - *Any* one. It's up to you.
> You can sit *anywhere* but here. This is my seat!



http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/any


> — *determiner *  1. a.  one, some, or several, as specified, no matter how much or many, what kind or quality, etc: _any cheese in the cupboard is yours _; _you may take any clothes you like _   b.  ( _as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural _): _take any you like _  2. ( _usually used with a negative _)   a.  even the smallest amount or even one: _I can't stand any noise _   b.  ( _as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural _): _don't give her any _  3. whatever or whichever; no matter what or which: _any dictionary will do _; _any time of day _  4. an indefinite or unlimited amount or number (esp in the phrases *any amount * or *number *): _any number of friends _






Espero que todo esto te sea más útil de lo que te hemos sido.


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## ander1234

Don't say that;actually,all of you have been really helpful,as always.It's just that it's impossible to explain everything of a language through the grammar,sometimes we say something at the expense or other one and why don't know why,just because it sounds better to us,it happens to me more often than not in Spanish.....

I have drawn some conclusions though:

-After a verb:Any+plural.
-Not after a verb:Any+plural/singular--there has been controversy about how to know which form is more natural in each case(_Sevendays:the plural suggests I'm interested in or expecting that you have more than one book on English usage_;_obz:As much as you may want it to make sense that way... it just is not how it is used) _so maybe in this cases the only way to know which form sounds more natural is learning each word by heart.At least we know that both forms are correct are gramatically correct....
-If you don't want to to make life difficult for yourself and you want to stress singularity:"a"


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## kbck777

I agree with sevendays in that if you were to go up to a librarian for instance and say "Do you have any books on English Usage?" You must be thinking to yourself (they have multiple books on English Usage) whereas if you say "do you have a book on English Usage" its sortof like you doubt the possibility that there is one...but you ask anyway just to be sure.


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## ander1234

obz,I did not realise before,but I think that "the rule" after verb:any+plural probably is not correct.

And the example is very clear:the one used by wordreference that we have also talked about in this thread: _Take any book you want_


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## kbck777

ander1234 said:


> obz,I did not realise before,but I think that "the rule" after verb:any+plural probably is not correct.
> 
> And the example is very clear:the one used by wordreference that we have also talked about in this thread: _Take any book you want_


 
Are you familiar with the 4 english moods: declarative, interrogative, imperative, and indicative? I think that sentence just works because in that sentence "take" functions as a command, and is in the imperative mood. In any command you could use any + singular (eat any slice of pizza that you want). You could also do the same in any declarative statement (Im going to take any book I want). But if the sentence is interrogative or indicative that rule still applies: (Did you take any books off the shelf?) and (Julia didn't take any books off the shelf) I'm not sure why commands and declarative statements don't follow that rule, but if you make "take" function as solely a verb in the indicative or interrogative mood, it still works, as do all other verbs.


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## obz

> obz,I did not *realize* before,but I think that "the rule" after verb:any+plural probably is not correct.


* It is.*



> And the example is very clear:the one used by wordreference that we have also talked about in this thread: _Take any book you want_


*Véase debajo.*



Es bien complejo, pero se ha vuelto a plantear aquí la explicación incontestable.
No sé que más podría hacerse para ayudar. Pon ejemplos sí quieres y te ayudaremos, pero lo que ha dicho ya, y ha vuelto a decir kbck777 es lo correcto.

Ander y SevenDays, Os deseo mucha suerte



> I think that sentence just works because in that sentence *"take"  functions as a command, and is in the imperative mood. In any command  you could use any + singular (eat any slice of pizza that you want). You  could also do the same in any declarative statement (Im going to take  any book I want)*. But if the sentence is interrogative or indicative  that rule still applies:* (Did you take any books off the shelf?)* and * (Julia didn't take any books off the shelf)*


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## Uriel-

You generally use the singular "any question" when you mean "any doubt", as in: "Is there any question that we would have had a better time if we'd had more money?"  

You use "any questions" when you are soliciting real questions -- "Do you have any questions about your homework?"


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## ander1234

Ok,I get it.Thank you so much for wishing me luck,obz.I don't have to pass more exams of English,as I already have the CPE(C2),but I still have to improve my English,especially my listening(there are some episodes of House,for instance,in which I don't understand almost anything hehe).About realise I think I am right.It's "realize" in American English and "realise" in British English,just a matter of style.I am European,so I am more used to writing in British English,as it is the one we learn here.

kbck777,I know that,but I was referring just to the afirmative sentences,which are all this thread is about,sorry if I didn't make myself understood....I meant that maybe the rule is not correct in afirmative sentences

By the way,is it correct _which are all this thread is about?_Because I have always heard "This is all it is about" and sentences like like,but I don't know if I had made a good use of this structure in this sentence.


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## kbck777

you can use that construction, but you have to change "are" to "is"


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## ander1234

Ok,thank you so much kbck777


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## kbck777

no problem, its a weird rule, even though affirmative sentences is a plural noun, you have to use "is" in that construction because that construction talks about ideas, which are always singular. Like, if you reword it sort of you could say: this thread is all about *(the idea/concept of)* affirmative sentences. since "the idea" is singular, you always have to be like: I was talking about dogs, which is all this..whatever..is about.


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## Forero

Todo depende del contexto y de lo que quiera decirse:

_ Take any books you want._
= If you want a book, take it; if you want more than one, take them.

_Take any book you want._
= When (or if) you want to take a book, take whichever book you choose.

_Feel free to text me if you want any book__._ *OK* (en ciertos contextos)
* 
* _ Feel free to text me if you have any question. _Excepción
 [Solo se dice con el sentido "... si hay alguna cuestión".]

_Feel free to text me if you want book__s__._
_Feel free to text me if you have questions._
_Feel free to text me if you want any book__s__._
_Feel free to text me if you have any questions.
__Feel free to text me if you want a book.
__Feel free to text me if you have a question.

_Estas frases son un poco negativas en que no presumen que habrá preguntas (ni que libros se querrán):

_Feel free to text me with any questions you may have.
__Feel free to text me with any question you may have.
__Feel free to text me about any book_(_s_)_ you may want.
__Feel free to text me with any additional questions you may have.__
Feel free to text me with any additional question you may have.
__Feel free to text me about any additional book_(_s_)_ you may want._

_Any more_ no conviene con contable singular:

_Feel free to text me with any more questions you may have. 
__Feel free to text me about any more books you may want. _
_Feel free to text me with any more question you may have. 
__Feel free to text me about any more book you may want. 

_No estoy seguro si _any further_ se usa con contable singular:

_Feel free to text me with any further questions you may have. 
__Feel free to text me with any further question you may have. 


_


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## kbck777

Forero said:


> _Feel free to text me if you want any book__._ *OK* (en ciertos contextos)


 
I would never ever ever say that sentence. I would say "feel free to text me if you want a book" replacing "a" with "any" doesn't work there.


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## Forero

I have no problem with referring to the affirmative sentences in the plural, nor with referring to the concept or idea associated with them in the singular:
_
I was referring just to the af*f*irmative sentences, which are all this thread is about. 
__I was referring just to the affirmative sentences, which are the only thing this thread is about. 
__I was referring just to the affirmative sentences, which is all this thread is about. 
_


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## kbck777

the first two sound very akward though. It's a lot better just to use "is" "which are all this thread is about doesn't sound natural.


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## Forero

To me, the version with _is_ is a little awkward, but natural enough and not wrong, and the version with _are_ sounds perfectly natural.

It really depends on how you look at it.

There is a bit of the Neckar cube phenomenon in shifting one's interpretation of a phrase from singular to plural or vice versa.

The same goes for the subtle differences between structures with _any_. To me, _any book_ is fine when it means "whatever book, if there is one":

_Feel free to text me if any book here should appeal to you. 
__Feel free to text me if you want any book_ (_you see here_)_. 
_


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## ander1234

I agree with kbck777 about _which is all this thread is about._Let's change the order of the sentences:

-_which are all this thread is about__:_All this thread is about is the concept of affirmative sentences

-_which are the only thing this thread is about:_I think this one is gramatically incorrect. Because we would say "the only thing this thread is about is affirmative sentences/the concept of affirmative sentence",so I think this sentence should read _which is the only thing this thread is about_

-_which are all this thread is about:_All this thread is about are affirmative sentences.Gramatically correct,but I think it's more common to say the first one than this one,because although when we say _which are all this thread is about,_obviously we don't say_ the concept of_,we are referring to it.


I think a similar case could be the following one:

-it's been 3 days since...........:with _it_ we are referring to "the period of time",not to "the number of days"


Please correct me if I am talking nonsense,I just want to make sure that I have understood this matter


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## Forero

Hi, Ander1234.

Most of your English is fine, so I will not quote your whole post.





ander1234 said:


> ... All this thread is about are affirmative sentences.


I see this _are_ as incorrect because _all_, the main word in the subject, means "the only thing". In English, the verb agrees only with the subject, not the complement (unless the subject is _there_).





> ... Please correct me if I am talking nonsense,I just want to make sure that I have understood this matter.


In "which is/are all this thread is about", the subject as I see it is not "all this thread is about" but _which_, and the source of confusion is whether _which_ stands for something plural or for something singular. In fact, it can stand for either:
_
... the affirmative sentences, which are all this thread is about_.
The affirmative sentences are all this thread is about. 

_I was referring to ..., which is all this thread is about.
_My referring to ... is all this thread is about. 

_... the affirmative sentences, which _(_matter_)_ is all this thread is about._
(The matter of) the affirmative sentences is all this thread is about. 

I consider this last version confusing as well as rather awkward without the part in parentheses.


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## SevenDays

Hello
 
Two rules have been presented. One says _if any comes after a verb, the noun that follows must be plural._ When it was pointed out that _take any book_ violates such rule, a second rule was offered: _in any command, any + singular can be used. You can do the same in any declarative statement_. Let's test our original sentence against this rule, using _logic_:
 
_Any + singular_ can be used in any declarative sentence.
_Feel free to text me with any question_ is a declarative sentence.
Therefore, _any + singular_ can be used in _feel free to text me with any question._
 
This conclusion is supported by the following syntactic analysis (with apologies to grammarians for any errors, which I hope they will correct):
_To text_ requires a direct object to complete its meaning; _question_ is the direct object, and therefore a noun phrase. _Question_ is a count noun (_one question, two questions, etc._). In a noun phrase, a single count noun must have a determiner (compare _feel free to text questions_ with _feel free to text question_; the latter isn't grammatical). The determiner "any" can be used with single count and plural count nouns (_any question, any questions_). Therefore, _feel free to text me with any question_ is a grammatical construction.
 
Yet, _feel free to text me any question_ sounds odd, at least to some people, probably, as I said in post #4, because the expectation is that one would have more than one question to ask; the singular _any question_ is counterintuitive. "Any" has a strong _quantitative_ aspect (referring to a _quantity_ of questions). We can, however, attach a complement to _any question_ and remove its quantitative nature:
_Feel free to text me with any question (that) you can think of_
_Feel free to text me with any question of your choosing._
 
The complements give _any question_ a qualitative aspect: _the quality (that) you can think of/of your choosing._
 
_Feel free to text me with any questio_*ns* has an advantage: it doesn't require any complements to complete its meaning (we know _any_ refers to quantity) and therefore is preferable.
 
We may argue that _feel free to text me with any question(s)_ is really a hypothetical sentence, with the meaning of _if you have any question(s), feel free to text me._ _Garner's Modern American Usage_ says _hypothetical any_ means  "a (no matter which)" or "some," and gives as an example _if any problem were to arise, what would it likely be?_" If that's the case, then _if any problem were to arise, feel free to text me_ works just as well.
 
The same logic applies to _if you have any book on English usage, please let me know_. A preferance has been stated for _if you have a book on English usage_, but all we've done, syntactially, is replace one indefinite determiner (_any_) for another (_a_). However, the meaning changes slightly: _a book_ is factual (one book), without any connotations. _Any book_ suggests _I don't care as to the nature_ of the "one" book; it could be old, new, thin, in two volumes, reader friendly, hard to follow, etc.) It is the same as the difference in Spanish between _un libro_ and _cualquier libro_.
 
(Any and all corrections are appreciated; we are all here to learn.)
 
Cheers


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## Forero

Hi, SevenDays.

 I am impressed with your explanation. You have suggested some important points in very fluent English. I hope you don't mind my picking it apart. 


SevenDays said:


> Hello
> 
> Two rules have been presented. One says _if any comes after a verb, the noun that follows must be plural._ When it was pointed out that _take any book_ violates such rule, a second rule was offered: _in any command, any + singular can be used. You can do the same in any declarative statement_. Let's test our original sentence against this rule, using _logic_:
> 
> _Any + singular_ can be used in any declarative sentence.
> _Feel free to text me with any question_ is a declarative sentence.
> Therefore, _any + singular_ can be used in _feel free to text me with any question._


Actually "Feel free to text me ..." is a command/imperative, but I suspect the type or mode of a sentence is really not relevant. "You can feel free to text me ..." works just as well, as does "Am I free to text you with any question?", with stress on the word _any_.


> This conclusion is supported by the following syntactic analysis (with apologies to grammarians for any errors, which I hope they will correct):
> *With* requires a direct *an* object to complete its meaning; _question_ is the direct object, and *is *therefore a noun phrase. _Question_ is a count noun (_one question, two questions, etc._). In a noun phrase, a single count noun must have a determiner (compare _feel free to text questions_ with _feel free to text question_; the latter isn't grammatical).


I think this is a very important point. We natives have a feel for these determiners, but they are difficult to explain.

For example, English and Spanish both use articles and share the idea of definite vs. indefinite. Speakers of Russian are at a disadvantage because we seem to use these things for lots of different purposes and yet we seem unable to classify or enumerate them in a consistent manner. But _the_ corresponds rather well with _el_/_la_/_los_/_las_, and _a_(_n_) with _un_/_una_, so they cause few problems between English and Spanish.

But the question of when to use no article at all, or when to use some other determiner, such as _any_, is another matter altogether. We have as much trouble explaining these things to each other as we have trying to explain definiteness to a Russian.





> The determiner "any" can be used with sing*ular* count and plural count nouns (_any question, any questions_). Therefore, _feel free to text me with any question_ is a grammatical construction.





> Yet, _feel free to text me *with *any question_ sounds odd, at least to some people, probably, as I said in post #*8*, because the expectation is that one would have more than one question to ask; the singular _any question_ is counterintuitive. "Any" has a strong _quantitative_ aspect (referring to a _quantity_ of questions). We can, however, attach a complement to _any question_ and remove its quantitative nature:
> 
> _Feel free to text me with any question (that) you can think of_
> _Feel free to text me with any question of your choosing._
> 
> The complements give _any question_ a qualitative aspect: _the quality (that) you can think of/of your choosing._
> 
> _Feel free to text me with any questio_*ns* has an advantage: it doesn't require any complements to complete its meaning (we know _any_ refers to quantity) and therefore is preferable.


I think I see what you are saying, but I would have used different terminology. What the speaker _expects_ is not quite the point, which seems to be something more like what the speaker wishes to communicate about definiteness, what the speaker cares about, or something similar. Rather than _quality_ or _complement_(_s_), maybe the issue is _qualification_, such as with a "restrictive" modifier. In Spanish a definite article, indicating a fully qualified noun phrase, together with a subjunctive, indicating something not fully realized, seems to express the same idea as _any_, at least in certain contexts.


> We may argue that _feel free to text me with any question(s)_ is really a hypothetical sentence, with the meaning of _if you have any question(s), feel free to text me._ _Garner's Modern American Usage_ says _hypothetical any_ means  "a (no matter which)" or "some," and gives as an example _if any problem were to arise, what would it likely be?_" If that's the case, then _if any problem were to arise, feel free to text me_ works just as well.
> 
> The same logic applies to _if you have any book on English usage, please let me know_. A preferance has been stated for _if you have a book on English usage_, but all we've done, syntacti*c*ally, is replace one indefinite determiner (_any_) *with* another (_a_). However, the meaning changes slightly: _a book_ is factual (one book), without any connotations. _Any book_ suggests _I don't care as to the nature_ of the "one" book; it could be old, new, thin, in two volumes, reader friendly, hard to follow, etc.) It is the same as the difference in Spanish between _un libro_ and _cualquier libro_.


Would you say "si tienen cualquier libro sobre ...", or would it be "si tienen algún libro sobre ..."? Is there a difference?

To me _any book_ suggests I don't care which one book, though I might indeed care about the nature of it.





> (Any and all corrections are appreciated; we are all here to learn.)
> 
> Cheers


I hope this helps. Personally, I think we are getting closer to the answer.


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