0
Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Elephants + any + singular = ?
I have these two sentences:
1.) Elephants have bigger ears than any other animals
2.) Elephants have bigger ears than any other animal
I know the second one is correct, but i'm trying to explain to a friend why it is. What I told her was that elephants have bigger ears than any other individual animal - thus why you can't say animals.
But then after that I was thinking a little more and thought that because of "any", the second was better than the first. However, In English we can use 'any' with plural nouns, too. i.e., "I don't have any classes today". But then again, I suppose you couldn't say "I have fewer classes than any other teachers", you'd have to say "I have fewer classes than any other teacher".
Any thoughts?
-Nicholi
1.) Elephants have bigger ears than any other animals
2.) Elephants have bigger ears than any other animal
I know the second one is correct, but i'm trying to explain to a friend why it is. What I told her was that elephants have bigger ears than any other individual animal - thus why you can't say animals.
But then after that I was thinking a little more and thought that because of "any", the second was better than the first. However, In English we can use 'any' with plural nouns, too. i.e., "I don't have any classes today". But then again, I suppose you couldn't say "I have fewer classes than any other teachers", you'd have to say "I have fewer classes than any other teacher".
Any thoughts?
-Nicholi
Top answer
Hi Nicholi, I can only add more fuel to the fire, I'm afraid. We could say "We" (in this school) have fewer classes than any other teachers (in other schools). I wonder if it's the singular/plural subject which determines it.
- Hi Nicholi, I can only add more fuel to the fire, I'm afraid.
- We could say "We" (in this school) have fewer classes than any other teachers (in other schools).
- I wonder if it's the singular/plural subject which determines it.
- any teacher other than I; any teachers other than we I don't allow any other teacher to X; We don't allow any other teachers to X So "any" can be singular or plural according to the subject, and "any" in turn determines the number of the thing being compared.
- " I am better than any other.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
1 Answers
0
Hi Nicholi,
I can only add more fuel to the fire, I'm afraid.
We could say "We" (in this school) have fewer classes than any other teachers (in other schools). I wonder if it's the singular/plural subject which determines it.
any teacher other than I; any teachers other than we I don't allow any other teacher to X; We don't allow any other teachers to X
I can only add more fuel to the fire, I'm afraid.
We could say "We" (in this school) have fewer classes than any other teachers (in other schools). I wonder if it's the singular/plural subject which determines it.
any teacher other than I; any teachers other than we I don't allow any other teacher to X; We don't allow any other teachers to X
0
Related Questions