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.










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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
    31 mins ago










  • Okay, go ahead.
    – posfan12
    13 mins ago

















up vote
1
down vote

favorite
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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.










share|improve this question
























  • 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
    31 mins ago










  • Okay, go ahead.
    – posfan12
    13 mins ago













up vote
1
down vote

favorite
1









up vote
1
down vote

favorite
1






1





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.










share|improve this question















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






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edited 12 mins ago









sumelic

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asked 1 hour ago









posfan12

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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
    31 mins ago










  • Okay, go ahead.
    – posfan12
    13 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
    31 mins ago










  • Okay, go ahead.
    – posfan12
    13 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
31 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
31 mins ago












Okay, go ahead.
– posfan12
13 mins ago




Okay, go ahead.
– posfan12
13 mins ago










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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. For comparison, the construction "which of [plural noun]" takes singular or plural agreement depending on its meaning: we could say "Which of these squares is red" or "Which of these squares are red" depending on whether we expect a singular or plural answer.



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.






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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. For comparison, the construction "which of [plural noun]" takes singular or plural agreement depending on its meaning: we could say "Which of these squares is red" or "Which of these squares are red" depending on whether we expect a singular or plural answer.



    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.






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      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. For comparison, the construction "which of [plural noun]" takes singular or plural agreement depending on its meaning: we could say "Which of these squares is red" or "Which of these squares are red" depending on whether we expect a singular or plural answer.



      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.






      share|improve this answer

























        up vote
        0
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        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. For comparison, the construction "which of [plural noun]" takes singular or plural agreement depending on its meaning: we could say "Which of these squares is red" or "Which of these squares are red" depending on whether we expect a singular or plural answer.



        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.






        share|improve this answer














        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. For comparison, the construction "which of [plural noun]" takes singular or plural agreement depending on its meaning: we could say "Which of these squares is red" or "Which of these squares are red" depending on whether we expect a singular or plural answer.



        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.







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        edited 10 mins ago

























        answered 35 mins ago









        sumelic

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