Any of + plural nouns

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ESL forum > Ask for help > Any of + plural nouns

Any of + plural nouns

Any of + plural nouns

Please help. � any of + a plural noun � should agree with a plural verb or a singular verb?

5 Dec 2011

yanogator

Wow! I started to answer, and discovered it to be a bit more complicated than I thought.

Here �s what I �ve come up with.

In questions, it can be either, depending on what you are asking:

Do any of you live in Hong Kong?

Is any of these rings the one you �re looking for? (I could have said "Is one of these rings the one you �re looking for?")

In statements, though, "any" has a singular meaning.

Any of these ties looks good with that shirt.

Any of our students is a candidate for the club.

Note that many people would be influenced by the proximity of the plural noun with the verb and mistakenly use a plural verb.

Bruce

5 Dec 2011

Daisee

Maybe these grammar sources are of help too:

any: determiner and pronoun - indicates an indefinite quantity of something

any + of + noun phrase

Have you read any of her books?

I don �t like any of his music

Do any of you speak German

to refer to one or several people or things, or to part of something

(Scott Thornbury - Natural Grammar p 10)

When any of is followed by a plural subject, the verb can be singular or plural. A singular verb is more common in formal style.

If any of your friends is/are interested, let me know

(Michael Swan, Practical English Usage p 57)

5 Dec 2011