Is “any of them” used with a singular or plural verb?
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I'm posting this question to settle a debate.
Is the sentence, "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any of them truly unparalleled?" correct? The sentence throws me off because the first clause has a plural subject, but the second clause has a singular subject. My personal preference would be to make the subjects in both clauses plural. I.e. "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, are any of them truly unparalleled?"
On the other hand, adding "one" sounds okay too. I.e. "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any one of them truly unparalleled?" The addition of "one" lessens the ambiguity over whether the subject is singular or not.
grammatical-number verb-agreement
edited 3 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
asked 58 mins ago
posfan12
1264
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
I'm posting this question to settle a debate.
Is the sentence, "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any of them truly unparalleled?" correct? The sentence throws me off because the first clause has a plural subject, but the second clause has a singular subject. My personal preference would be to make the subjects in both clauses plural. I.e. "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, are any of them truly unparalleled?"
On the other hand, adding "one" sounds okay too. I.e. "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any one of them truly unparalleled?" The addition of "one" lessens the ambiguity over whether the subject is singular or not.
grammatical-number verb-agreement
edited 3 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
asked 58 mins ago
posfan12
1264
Would you object if I edited the title of your question to make it more specific to the issue of "is any of them" vs. "are any of them"?
– sumelic
22 mins ago
Okay, go ahead.
– posfan12
4 mins ago
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
I'm posting this question to settle a debate.
Is the sentence, "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any of them truly unparalleled?" correct? The sentence throws me off because the first clause has a plural subject, but the second clause has a singular subject. My personal preference would be to make the subjects in both clauses plural. I.e. "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, are any of them truly unparalleled?"
On the other hand, adding "one" sounds okay too. I.e. "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any one of them truly unparalleled?" The addition of "one" lessens the ambiguity over whether the subject is singular or not.
grammatical-number verb-agreement
edited 3 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
asked 58 mins ago
posfan12
1264
I'm posting this question to settle a debate.
Is the sentence, "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any of them truly unparalleled?" correct? The sentence throws me off because the first clause has a plural subject, but the second clause has a singular subject. My personal preference would be to make the subjects in both clauses plural. I.e. "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, are any of them truly unparalleled?"
On the other hand, adding "one" sounds okay too. I.e. "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any one of them truly unparalleled?" The addition of "one" lessens the ambiguity over whether the subject is singular or not.
grammatical-number verb-agreement
grammatical-number verb-agreement
edited 3 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
asked 58 mins ago
posfan12
1264
edited 3 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
asked 58 mins ago
posfan12
1264
edited 3 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
edited 3 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
edited 3 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
45.2k7108209
asked 58 mins ago
posfan12
1264
asked 58 mins ago
posfan12
1264
asked 58 mins ago
posfan12
1264
1264
Would you object if I edited the title of your question to make it more specific to the issue of "is any of them" vs. "are any of them"?
– sumelic
22 mins ago
Okay, go ahead.
– posfan12
4 mins ago
add a comment |
Would you object if I edited the title of your question to make it more specific to the issue of "is any of them" vs. "are any of them"?
– sumelic
22 mins ago
Okay, go ahead.
– posfan12
4 mins ago
Would you object if I edited the title of your question to make it more specific to the issue of "is any of them" vs. "are any of them"?
– sumelic
22 mins ago
Would you object if I edited the title of your question to make it more specific to the issue of "is any of them" vs. "are any of them"?
– sumelic
22 mins ago
Okay, go ahead.
– posfan12
4 mins ago
Okay, go ahead.
– posfan12
4 mins ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
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There is nothing wrong with using singular and plural subjects in different clauses in the same sentence: as you yourself observe, we can say things like "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any one of them truly unparalleled?"
I think the reason for uncertainty about whether "any of [plural noun]" should take singular or plural verb agreement is because the noun in the prepositional phrase is plural in form, but the word any is not, and semantically it could be considered either singular or plural.
Apparently, it's more common to use a singular verb with "any of [plural noun]". See CowperKettle's answer to the question "How to use “any of”" on ELL SE:
I did some googling, and it turns out any of your options is admitted: here's a link to [a grammar blog post][1]. I quote:
Any of can be followed by a verb in the singular or plural: "If any of your friends want/wants to come, they are welcome." (Plural is preferred in everyday language, singular is more formal)
Or, as the same issue it treated in [a grammar rule sheet][2] at a New Zealand university site,
When any of is followed by a countable plural noun, the verb can be in either singular or plural form, but a singular verb is more common in a formal style: "If any of your friends is/are interested, let me know."
Unfortunately, both of the links seem to be broken, so I haven't reproduced them. My answer here is still a work in progress, so be wary of it.
answered 26 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
0
down vote
There is nothing wrong with using singular and plural subjects in different clauses in the same sentence: as you yourself observe, we can say things like "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any one of them truly unparalleled?"
I think the reason for uncertainty about whether "any of [plural noun]" should take singular or plural verb agreement is because the noun in the prepositional phrase is plural in form, but the word any is not, and semantically it could be considered either singular or plural.
Apparently, it's more common to use a singular verb with "any of [plural noun]". See CowperKettle's answer to the question "How to use “any of”" on ELL SE:
I did some googling, and it turns out any of your options is admitted: here's a link to [a grammar blog post][1]. I quote:
Any of can be followed by a verb in the singular or plural: "If any of your friends want/wants to come, they are welcome." (Plural is preferred in everyday language, singular is more formal)
Or, as the same issue it treated in [a grammar rule sheet][2] at a New Zealand university site,
When any of is followed by a countable plural noun, the verb can be in either singular or plural form, but a singular verb is more common in a formal style: "If any of your friends is/are interested, let me know."
Unfortunately, both of the links seem to be broken, so I haven't reproduced them. My answer here is still a work in progress, so be wary of it.
answered 26 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
There is nothing wrong with using singular and plural subjects in different clauses in the same sentence: as you yourself observe, we can say things like "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any one of them truly unparalleled?"
I think the reason for uncertainty about whether "any of [plural noun]" should take singular or plural verb agreement is because the noun in the prepositional phrase is plural in form, but the word any is not, and semantically it could be considered either singular or plural.
Apparently, it's more common to use a singular verb with "any of [plural noun]". See CowperKettle's answer to the question "How to use “any of”" on ELL SE:
I did some googling, and it turns out any of your options is admitted: here's a link to [a grammar blog post][1]. I quote:
Any of can be followed by a verb in the singular or plural: "If any of your friends want/wants to come, they are welcome." (Plural is preferred in everyday language, singular is more formal)
Or, as the same issue it treated in [a grammar rule sheet][2] at a New Zealand university site,
When any of is followed by a countable plural noun, the verb can be in either singular or plural form, but a singular verb is more common in a formal style: "If any of your friends is/are interested, let me know."
Unfortunately, both of the links seem to be broken, so I haven't reproduced them. My answer here is still a work in progress, so be wary of it.
answered 26 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
There is nothing wrong with using singular and plural subjects in different clauses in the same sentence: as you yourself observe, we can say things like "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any one of them truly unparalleled?"
I think the reason for uncertainty about whether "any of [plural noun]" should take singular or plural verb agreement is because the noun in the prepositional phrase is plural in form, but the word any is not, and semantically it could be considered either singular or plural.
Apparently, it's more common to use a singular verb with "any of [plural noun]". See CowperKettle's answer to the question "How to use “any of”" on ELL SE:
I did some googling, and it turns out any of your options is admitted: here's a link to [a grammar blog post][1]. I quote:
Any of can be followed by a verb in the singular or plural: "If any of your friends want/wants to come, they are welcome." (Plural is preferred in everyday language, singular is more formal)
Or, as the same issue it treated in [a grammar rule sheet][2] at a New Zealand university site,
When any of is followed by a countable plural noun, the verb can be in either singular or plural form, but a singular verb is more common in a formal style: "If any of your friends is/are interested, let me know."
Unfortunately, both of the links seem to be broken, so I haven't reproduced them. My answer here is still a work in progress, so be wary of it.
answered 26 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
There is nothing wrong with using singular and plural subjects in different clauses in the same sentence: as you yourself observe, we can say things like "If there are three of an unparalleled thing, is any one of them truly unparalleled?"
I think the reason for uncertainty about whether "any of [plural noun]" should take singular or plural verb agreement is because the noun in the prepositional phrase is plural in form, but the word any is not, and semantically it could be considered either singular or plural.
Apparently, it's more common to use a singular verb with "any of [plural noun]". See CowperKettle's answer to the question "How to use “any of”" on ELL SE:
I did some googling, and it turns out any of your options is admitted: here's a link to [a grammar blog post][1]. I quote:
Any of can be followed by a verb in the singular or plural: "If any of your friends want/wants to come, they are welcome." (Plural is preferred in everyday language, singular is more formal)
Or, as the same issue it treated in [a grammar rule sheet][2] at a New Zealand university site,
When any of is followed by a countable plural noun, the verb can be in either singular or plural form, but a singular verb is more common in a formal style: "If any of your friends is/are interested, let me know."
Unfortunately, both of the links seem to be broken, so I haven't reproduced them. My answer here is still a work in progress, so be wary of it.
answered 26 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
edited 1 min ago
answered 26 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
answered 26 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
answered 26 mins ago
sumelic
45.2k7108209
45.2k7108209
add a comment |
add a comment |
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Would you object if I edited the title of your question to make it more specific to the issue of "is any of them" vs. "are any of them"?
– sumelic
22 mins ago
Okay, go ahead.
– posfan12
4 mins ago