Date: Wed, 31 Jan 1996 10:15:48 +0000

From: "E. W. Gilman" egilman[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]M-W.COM

Subject: any longer & I hope there's any left



The reason "any" in positive statements seems odd to most of us is

that "any" is what Quirk et al 1985 call nonassertive--that is, it

occurs generally in questions and in negative statements:



Have you any wool?

No, I haven't any wool.

But not *Yes, I have any wool. "Some" is the usual replacement for

"any" in assertive contexts:

Yes, I have some wool.



There's a lot more of this fascinating stuff in Quirk if anyone (note

"any" in a conditional too) cares to plow through it.



E.W.Gilman