0
Teo Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

any, a

01. Do you have a child?02br
02br
002. Do you have any child?02br
02br
003. Do you have any children?02br
02br
004. There isn't a hospital in our town.02br
02br
005. There isn't any hospital in our town.02br
02br
006. There aren't any hospitals in our town.02br
02br
00Sentences #2 and #3 are incorrect. Do you agree?0-
  

Top answer

0 I don't think they are... You're just inquiring about something whose answer you don't know... 0-

— Pieanne

  • 0 I don't think they are...
  • You're just inquiring about something whose answer you don't know...
  • 0-
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

22 Answers
0
0 I don't think they are... You're just inquiring about something whose answer you don't know... 0-
0
0
0 2. is incorrect. The others are OK.0-
0
0
0Sorry, I made a serious typo.02br
02br
00I think #2 and #5 are grammatically incorrect because 01b00any 02b00is not normally followed by singular conuntable nouns in questions and negative statements.02br
02br
00If #2 is incorrect, how can #5 be acceptable?0-
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Teo12cite12br
10Sorry, I made a serious typo.12br
12br
10I think #2 and #5 are grammatically incorrect because 11b10any 12b10is not normally followed by singular conuntable nouns in questions and negative statements.12br
12br
10If #2 is incorrect, how can #5 b
0
0
0 Declaratives:02br
02br
00 *I have any child.02br
00 *I have any children.02br
00 *I have any money.02br
00 *There is any hospital in our town.02br
00 *There are any hospitals in our town.02br
00 *There is any money on the table.02br
02br
00 Interrogatives:02br
02br
00
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10CalifJim12cite101 Is there any hospital in your town?12br
10 Are there any hospitals in your town?12br
12br
102 There isn't any hospital in our town.12br
10 There aren't any hospitals in our town.12br
12br
11i103 Do you have any truck/car/vehicle?
0
0
0 Hi Diamondrg,02br
02br
00 1. No significant difference. The use of 01i00a02i00 is just slightly more neutral sounding.02br
00 2. No significant difference. Possible use of 01i00a02i00 in the sense of 01i00(not) a single02i00, thus expressing some surprise.02br
00 3. The "unm
0
0
Grammatically conceivable, but nevertheless still unacceptable on grounds of extreme unnaturalness.

We do not normally use 'any' with an unmodified countable noun in a simple interrogative of this type (#5, you will observe, is a negative, not interrogative sentence, to which somewhat different restrictions apply).

It is an instance of the kind of idiomatic restriction which on
0
0
Teo1. Do you have a child?

2. Do you have any child?

3. Do you have any children?

4. There isn't a hospital in our town.

5. There isn't any hospital in our town.

6. There aren't any hospitals in our town.

Sentences #2 and #3 are incorrect. Do you agree?

I'm no expert but here's my take on this:
0

Related Questions