Any signs / sign of remission

Question

Hi teachers,Would you show me how in a sentence should we use the plural form and the singular form?  Thank you.Tinanam

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

"The illness does not show any sign of remission."

"The illness does not show any signs of remission."

"Are there any signs of remission?"

"Is there any sign of remission?"

The pairs mean more or less the same thing.

Anonymous · Answer

Hello Mr. Wordy,

Thank you for your explanations.

1. Do you mean I could either use either plural or singular form without a really big difference to mean the same idea? I have encountered both "any signs of *** " and "any sign of ***". I don't know when to use singular and when to use plural?

2. At work my superior sometimes write "Any signs of activity on this account", does that mean she wants you to give her "more than one sign"?

Thanks again

Tinanam

Mr Wordy · Answer

1. Thinking some more, it seems there are two slightly different types of usage here. First, "any" might be a yes/no choice, in which case "any sign" and "any signs" seem pretty much interchangeable:

"Is there any sign of life?"

"Are there any signs of life?"

"There isn't any sign of life."

"There aren't any signs of life."

Second, "any" might be asking for an enumeration, or list, of items. In this case, "any signs" is used (irrespective of how many there might actually be):

"Please list any signs of life."

You would not say "Please list any sign of life".

2. It's not clear to me whether "Any signs of activity on this account" means "Are there any signs of activity on this account?" (expecting a yes/no answer) or something more like "Please list any signs of activity on this account." In any case, the fact that she says "signs" does not imply that she knows there should be more than one sign. She's just asking you for what you've got, whether that be zero, one, or more than one signs.

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Hi Tina,

Any- can be used in singular or plural contexts, depending on the constuction of the sentence.
"Are there any questions?" - Suggesting one or moe

" Was there any problem with the installation?"- Implying not expecting complication on the installation, not even one. This link is very clear in its usage and meaning.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/any

–adjective
1.
one, a, an, or some; one or more without specification or identification: If you have any witnesses, produce them. Pick out any six you like.

2.
whatever or whichever it may be: cheap at any price.

3.
in whatever quantity or number, great or small; some: Do you have any butter?

4.
every; all: Any schoolboy would know that. Read any books you find on the subject.

5.
(following a negative) at all: She can't endure any criticism.

–pronoun
6.
an unspecified person or persons; anybody; anyone: He does better than any before him.

7.
a single one or ones; an unspecified thing or things; a quantity or number: We don't have any left.

–adverb
8.
in whatever degree; to some extent; at all: Do you feel any better?

—Idiom
9.
any which way, in any manner whatever; indifferently or carelessly: Doing your work any which way is just not good enough.

Anonymous · Answer

Hi Dimsumexpress, hi Mr. Wordy,

Thank you for very detailed explanations and the link.

Hope you all have a great day.

Tinanam

Any signs / sign of remission

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