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Is “Any” Singular or Plural?

Neha Karve

Updated January 5, 2023

Summary

Any may be used as a singular or a plural pronoun, depending on whether it refers to “at least one” or “one or more.” You may use either a singular verb like is or a plural verb like are with any (although use of the plural is more common).

Examples

• Plural: Are any of the students working on the project?
  one or more of them
• Singular: Is any of them awake?
  at least one

When any refers to a singular uncountable noun, it is always singular.

Example

• Is/are any of the information available yet?

As a determiner, any is generally followed by uncountable and plural countable nouns in questions and negative statements.

Examples

• Is there any water left in the bottle?
• Does she have any enemies?
• I don’t have any water.
• She doesn’t have any enemies.

With singular countable nouns, use a/an rather than any.

Examples

• Have you ever eaten any/an apple?
• I have never eaten any/an apple.

But note that any may be used with a singular countable noun to lend emphasis or to mean “it does not matter which.”

Examples

• Do you have any idea what you have done?
• Any car will do.

When to use any

The word any can be used as a pronoun or a determiner. (A pronoun functions as a noun phrase, while a determiner appears before a noun and clarifies its reference.)

The pronoun any refers to one or more of a group. Use it to speak of at least one or more than one of a set of persons or things.

Any can also refer to quantity.

Any is often followed by the preposition of.

Any is also used as a determiner before a noun, generally in questions and negative statements.

In this article, we discuss whether the pronoun any should be used with singular or plural verbs: is any or are any of them ready? We also discuss whether any as a determiner can be followed by singular or plural nouns: any query or any queries?

Is any singular or plural?

Any may be either a singular or a plural pronoun, depending on whether it means “at least one” or “one or more.” To refer at least one of a group, use a singular verb like is. To refer to more than one of a group, use a plural verb like are.

Reference to countable nouns

When any is used as a pronoun in questions to refer to countable nouns, it can be used with either singular or plural verbs: is any or are any. When you use a plural verb (like are any), you are asking about “one or more” of a number. When you use a singular verb (like is any), you are asking about “at least one” of a number.

Here are some more examples.

Any of a number can also be used in conditional statements, either as singular or plural (although plural use is more common).

In negative statements, the pronoun any is used to refer to a plural number rather than a singular countable noun.

Reference to uncountable nouns

With singular uncountable nouns (also called mass nouns), any is singular. This is because uncountable nouns (like water, furniture, jewelry) are thought of in terms of quantity rather than a countable number.

Here are some more examples of any being considered singular when it refers to singular uncountable nouns.

When any refers to plural uncountable nouns, it is always plural. (Plural uncountable nouns are always used in the plural form, never in the singular.)

Is any used with singular or plural nouns?

In questions and negative statements, any generally appears as a determiner with a plural countable noun or an uncountable noun. It can also appear before a singular countable noun to lend emphasis to a sentence.

With uncountable and plural countable nouns

Any is used with uncountable or plural countable nouns in questions. (Countable nouns refer to things that can be counted, while uncountable or mass nouns refer to a quantity.)

When any is used with singular uncountable nouns, the verb used is singular.

Any is also used with uncountable and plural countable nouns in negative statements.

In conditionals as well, any is used with uncountable and plural countable nouns.

With singular countable nouns

Any is not generally used with singular countable nouns. Instead, we use the indefinite article a/an.

Note that it is not grammatically wrong to use any before a singular countable noun. Such a construction can lend emphasis to a conditional or a question.

Any followed by a singular countable noun can also indicate that you are referring to an example of a class of things, and that it does not matter which particular thing it is.

Some and no in place of any

Not any may be replaced by no in negative statements. Note that no is more emphatic than not any and can sound more formal.

In questions, some can convey that the speaker expects a positive response, while any is more neutral.

In negative questions, any instead of some is used, expecting a negative response.

Finally, some instead of any is generally used in affirmative statements. Any is used in negative statements.

Anyone, anybody, anything: Singular or plural?

The pronouns anyone, anybody, and anything refer to one person or thing and are always singular.

Sometimes, we use any one in place of any to emphasize an example of a class, regardless of which one in particular.

Examples from literature

Here are some examples of the pronoun any used with singular and plural verbs.

And here are some examples of any used as a determiner in writing. Note how it is used before a plural noun in negative statements, but before a singular noun in affirmative statements.