Any other == + when singular? when plural?

Question

Hello,I have a question which is terribly confusing me. I have asked this question almost in three different forums and they have perfectly explained them to me but unfortunately I have not understood it completely. So I decided to ask it here too to see if you can explain it more simply than them or maybe you have a logical answer.This is my question:1. The cheetah is faster than any other animal. = Correct 2. Cheetahs are faster than any other animal. = Correct 3. Do you have any other opinion? = Incorrect 4. Is there any other apple on the table? = Incorrect This is my confusion:===&gt; why can we use a singular noun after any other in 1 and 2 but we can not use a singular noun after any other in 3 and 4? Some say 3 and 4 are fine in different circumstances and some say no they are both incorrect. Why are 3 and 4 incorrect or odd or unnatural?Thank you so much.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

sb700123. Do you have any other opinion? = Incorrect

Some users are too narrow minded to accept any other opinion, obviously. (en.wikipedia.org)

The blindness of your editorial staff in endorsing her makes any other opinion you publish suspect. (dailyherald.com)

Is there any other opinion? (guardian.co.uk)

GPY · Answer

sb70012Why are 3 and 4 incorrect or odd or unnatural?

I do not agree that (3) and (4) are incorrect. (3) could be said, for example, if someone kept repeating the same opinion. (4) could be used in a context where one particular apple was important.

CalifJim · Answer

GPYI do not agree that (3) and (4) are incorrect.

I don't either. They look correct to me.

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

sb70012any other

By the way, the presence of "other" is a sort of distraction. The rules apply to "any opinion/apple" and "any opinions/apples" regardless of whether "other" is used there or not.

CJ

Sb70012 · Answer

Everybody, thank you so much for answering.
But in this forum (thread) http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2074671

://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2074671
Some native English speakers keep saying that 3 and 4 are unnatural and odd.
That's why now I am confused. Now I want to be sure. They say 3 and 4 are odd and you say they are not odd.
Would you please be kind enough to have look at the link I have given in this post and look at their opinions?
Don't you agree with them?

Thank you so much

GPY · Answer

sb70012Some native English speakers keep saying that 3 and 4 are unnatural and odd.

They need a particular special context. In the wrong context they would be odd.

CalifJim · Answer

GPYIn the wrong context they would be odd.

And we should point out that this is true of many words and word combinations in all languages.

CJ

Sb70012 · Answer

Would you please be kind enough to make me 2 sentence examples and use "any other apple" and "any other opinion" in them?
I want you to tell me two examples where "any other apple" and "any other opinion" would look more natural to you than the previous ones. I mean I will be happy if you give me two different appropriate contexts where they look more natural.

Excuse me if I bother you by asking this question. I have some understanding problem in English.
Thank you

Cool Breeze · Answer

I'll **** in if I may. I agree with those who say there's nothing grammatically incorrect in sentences 3 and 4. I also agree that they would not be used very often. Finding a suitable context isn't easy. Because English is virtually uninflected, there is often little choice as to what one says. There is a phrase or a fixed collocation for almost every situation, and anything that is not normally said may sound unnatural.

A few years ago, the word idiomaticity was discussed in a thread on this forum. It's one of the two nouns that dictionaries offer as nouns corresponding to the adjective idiomatic. Some native speakers thought it unnatural, but offered no natural choice to replace it. For them, there is no natural way to talk about idiomaticity in English.

In all the languages I know of, there is a natural noun that has this meaning. English is extremely peculiar. It has a very large vocabulary but many of those words are considered unnatural by native speakers.

CB

GPY · Answer

sb70012Would you please be kind enough to make me 2 sentence examples and use "any other apple" and "any other opinion" in them?

Anon gave several natural "any other opinion" examples earlier. Here are a couple of "apple" ones from Google search:

"'Newtown Pippin' grown on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia were being shipped to England and commanding a price higher than that of any other apple."

"No apple is exactly like any other apple."

Any other ==> + when singular? when plural?

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