Uses of Any as various parts of speech

In this article, we will see:

• the various ways ‘any’ can function in a sentence.
• the various sentence structures/patterns involving ‘any’
• various use cases of ‘any’, including some dos and don’ts.

Any is used to refer to indefinite quantity or an unlimited quantity.

Any as various parts of speech

‘Any’ can function as:

• a pronoun,
• an adjective or
• an adverb.

I looked around for a gas station, but there wasn’t any. (any – pronoun)
I looked around, but there wasn’t any gas station nearby. (any – adjective; gas station - noun)
Is she feeling any better? (any – adverb)

Any as a Pronoun

Pattern 1

I searched for water everywhere, but was not able to find any.

Pattern 2: Any of

Did any of her students pass? (weak meaning of any, i.e. did 1 passed, some passed, or all passed?)

It is the first time that any of us has played chess. (strong meaning of any, i.e. no one of us played before)

Any as an Adjective/Determiner

As an adjective/determiner, ‘any’ can have two meanings. Let’s see them both.

Any meaning indefinite quantity

‘Any’ may mean an indefinite or an unknown quantity, i.e. one, several, or all of the members of a group. (weak form of any)

We use such form of ‘any’ in questions and negative sentences, and only with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns (not with singular countable nouns).

Pattern 1: Any + Plural Countable Noun
Are there any boxes left? (boxes – plural countable noun)

Pattern 2: Any + Uncountable Noun
I don’t think she has got any money. (money – uncountable noun)

Any meaning unlimited quantity

‘Any’ may mean unlimited quantity, or ‘it does not matter which’ because it applies to all the members of the group. (strong form of any)

We use such form of ‘any’ in affirmative sentences, and with all types of nouns (including singular countable nouns).

Pattern 1: Any + Singular Countable Noun
It’s a problem that any intelligent student can solve. (student – singular countable noun; it applies to all intelligent students)

Pattern 2: Any + Plural Countable Noun
Have you chosen the colours for the new house. You may choose any colours you want. (colours – plural countable noun; does not matter which colours you choose)

Pattern 3: Any + Uncountable Noun
You may call me for any information you want. (information – uncountable noun)

Any as an adverb

As an adverb, ‘any’ is often followed by comparative form of another adjective/adverb.

Is he feeling any better? (better - adjective)
I don’t think he can go any faster. (faster - adverb)

Uses of ‘Any’

We often use ‘any’ in following ways:

Use 1: In questions and negative sentences

Are there any sweets left?

Don’t worry. He hasn’t filed any complaint against you.

Use 2

We often use ‘any’ in clauses with ‘if’:

We can provide you some arms, if that’s any help.

Use 3

We also use ‘any’ in the following phrases:

• any…at all:
  Without any hesitation at all, he came forward and offered to do community service.

• few if any (i.e. not many and possibly none):
  Few if any officers will do what he did.

Any Vs. Anyone

‘Anyone’ is always used for people.
‘Any’ can be used for people as well as inanimate objects.

Anyone car will be more expensive than this jeep. (incorrect)
Any car will be more expensive than this jeep. (correct)

Anyone Vs. Any One

Note the differences between ‘anyone’ and ‘any one’.

Difference 1

‘Anyone’ is a pronoun. While ‘any one’ is a combination of two adjectives – any and one. ‘one’ is a determiner that refers to a single item.

So, unlike ‘anyone’, we can use ‘any one’ for people, as well as inanimate objects.

My son likes all ice-cream flavours, not anyone flavour. (incorrect)
My son likes all ice-cream flavours, not any one flavour. (correct)

Difference 2

‘any one’ is also used for extra emphasis.

We couldn’t bear to lose any of these battlefield positions.
We couldn’t bear to lose any one of these battlefield positions. (same meaning, more emphasis)
We couldn’t bear to lose any single one of these battlefield positions. (same meaning, even more emphasis)

Extra Books and Tools

If you prefer to learn via books, or want some good English Grammar books for reference purposes, you may read this article which enlists some of the books recommended by us.