Any - Singluar or Plural?
Any - Singluar or Plural?
(OP)
I got into a scrap with a colleague yesterday about his modification of some text I'd written. I think he had a bit of an "Al Gore moment". Anyway, which of these two sentences is grammatically correct?
"I don't think any of our engineers understands grammar."
"I don't think any of our engineers understand grammar."
Simply put, is the subject: "any" singular or plural in this context?
The usual mistake people make is with the word "none", when used as a contraction of "not one". In this usage it is clearly singular, so this sentence is correct: "None of our engineers understands grammar." Usage of "none" is discussed at length all over the WWW, but not "any" in the same context.
"I don't think any of our engineers understands grammar."
"I don't think any of our engineers understand grammar."
Simply put, is the subject: "any" singular or plural in this context?
The usual mistake people make is with the word "none", when used as a contraction of "not one". In this usage it is clearly singular, so this sentence is correct: "None of our engineers understands grammar." Usage of "none" is discussed at length all over the WWW, but not "any" in the same context.
- Steve





RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
take "any of" out of the first and it reads "i don't think our engineers understands grammar" - now instead of any put a number bigger than one and it still doesn't scan properly e.g. "i don't think two of our engineers understands grammar"
take out "any of" from the second and it reads "i don't think our engineers understand grammar" which is correct, substitute a number bigger than one e.g. "i don't think two of our engineers understand grammar" which still reads correctly.
Cheers, HM
No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary - William of Occam
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
- Steve
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
My bolding
an⋅y
–adjective
1. one, a, an, or some; one or more without specification or identification: If you have any witnesses, produce them. Pick out any six you like.
–pronoun
6. an unspecified person or persons; anybody; anyone: He does better than any before him.
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
i would have said that "any" is generally not used as a contraction for "anyone"
what about trying to phrase it differently to get your colleague's knickers untwisted!
No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary - William of Occam
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
The fact that "Engineers" is plural is beguiling, but ultimately misleading.
Go back to the meaning of the thing Steve was trying to say in the first place:
To prove the belief wrong, all that needs to be shown is that one of the engineers understands grammar. This brings with it an implication that the "any" in the sentence could sensibly be expanded to read "any one", and the singular form is therefore correct. No other interpretation makes much sense.
A.
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
I used to say in reports: "A total of 14 boreholes was drilled." Most want to say "A total of 14 boreholes were drilled." Now that would, I posit, only be correct if I wrote it as "Fourteen boreholes were drilled." Clearly, "A total were drilled" doesn't sound correct; "A total was drilled" does - at least where I come from.
Reminds me of the joy I had when I was able to get a Canadian fried to say "Where's it at?" instead of "where's it?" or better "Where is it?".
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
I did read your typo as "fired" rather than "friend" the first time through though. Then again I always seem to speed-read "Reader's views" as "Reader's wives" on the front cover of our IMechE rag.
BTW, a third party stepped in and rearranged the sentence so as to defuse the situation.
- Steve
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
KENAT,
Have you reminded yourself of FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies recently, or taken a look at posting policies: http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
- Steve
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
I'm old engought to remember what O-level & CSE's were though, they're what my siblings took.
KENAT,
Have you reminded yourself of FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies recently, or taken a look at posting policies: http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
I'd been meaning to interject, but hadn't found the time... It's not clear to me why "any" wouldn't be plural, as in the sentence "Do we have any engineers who understand proper grammar?"
It seems a correct response might be "no, we don't have any engineers who understand grammar."
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
I think you and I are agreeing, but in the OP "any" is a pronoun, while in your example it is an adjective modifying "engineeers". There is a difference in the question, but I think the answer is the same.
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
- Steve
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
Any, in this case, can be taken as a group (singular) or as individuals (plural). So, it depends on the intent of the speaker here. My answer is it doesn't really matter. The result's the same.
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
I'm hoping you were streamed past the foundation and standard grades to the top level but i can't remember what that was called...must be old age
No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary - William of Occam
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
Careful - O level and O Grade were never the same thing. O level probably sat somewhere between an O Grade and Higher.
A.
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
KENAT was comparing today's GCSE grades to the equivalent GCE O levels of yesterday, the claim being that a GCSE C or above today is as good as a GCE O level of yesterday.
I have no idea what today's A level failure grade is or what it allegedly equates to in terms of GSCEs.
- Steve
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
I was comparing General Certificate of Scool Education grade C or above to General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level examinations. Less than a C at GCSE was equivalent to an old CSE, or something like that I can't remember where the overlap fell on the older exams, I think a top grade CSE was about a C at GCE O level. Just found this that explains it further down the page.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GCSE
I took my GCSE's at the time they were introducing 'key stage 4' so untill near the end we thought we were going to get grades 1-10 not letter grades, just before final exams they changed back to letters.
For anyone completely lost, simplistically, prior to the late 80's smart kids at age 16 took GCE O level exams, less intelligent kids took CSE's. These exams then got merged but with different streams.
When I took GCE Advanced level as I recall if you got an 'n' this was equivalent to a GCSE.
When I took GCSE some subjects, notably science & math had different exams with differing levels of difficulty. I took the hardest in both subjects. This meant that something like 20% was a C but less than that you failed.
KENAT,
Have you reminded yourself of FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies recently, or taken a look at posting policies: http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
In retrospect, all the changes to the GCE 'O'/CSE/GCSE exams prevented anyone suggesting "grade inflation". Grade confusion more like.
</cynical mode>
- Steve
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
KENAT,
Have you reminded yourself of FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies recently, or taken a look at posting policies: http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
The "O Grade" I was comparing with O levels is (was?) an exam in the Scottish system, rather than one of the possible outcomes of a GCE A Level exam (although I do remember that one too, now you mention it).
A.
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
KENAT,
Have you reminded yourself of FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies recently, or taken a look at posting policies: http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
Practical English Usage - Michael Swan - Oxford University Press 1980 2ed ISBN 0 19 432298 8.
When " any of " is followed by a plural subject (enginners), the verb can be singular or plural. A singular verb is more common in a formal style.
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
- Steve
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
In my edition - page 50 Para.7 any and any of; any as a pronoun.
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
"I's don't think none of our engineers can grammer right."
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
"Any" certainty is not a contraction for "many".
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
I like ivymike's approach of turning the sentence into a question. Except he changed the sentence a little bit too much which raised and objection. Let's try again:
Statements:
"I don't think any of our engineers understands grammar."
or
"I don't think any of our engineers understand grammar."
Question:
"Do any of our engineers understand grammar?"
or
"Do any of our engineers understands grammar"
My question:
Do any of our forum members thinks the second question is correct?
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RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
Fe
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
"I don't think any one of our engineers understands grammar."
"I don't think any of our engineers understand grammar."
"You drank all the milk and didn't leave any for me."
"Do we have any more nails?"
"Does that make any sense to you?"
BA
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
- Steve
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
for example
"I challenge you to find any one of our engineers that understands grammar"
is correct as it is referring to an individual.
In your case engineers refers to a group and therefore you use the word understand.
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
How about:
"I challenge you to find any of our engineers who understand grammar"
BA
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
I would say that one should have an s on it, but...
RE: Any - Singluar or Plural?
I challenge you to find any (of our engineers) who understands grammar.
I challenge you to find any engineers who understand grammar.