If you have (any) questions

The name of the pictureThe name of the pictureThe name of the pictureClash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP












2














Do I need to use any in the following sentence? Does any change the meaning of the following sentence?




If you have (any) questions on the subject, feel free to ask me.




As an English speaker would you leave any out?










share|improve this question




























    2














    Do I need to use any in the following sentence? Does any change the meaning of the following sentence?




    If you have (any) questions on the subject, feel free to ask me.




    As an English speaker would you leave any out?










    share|improve this question


























      2












      2








      2







      Do I need to use any in the following sentence? Does any change the meaning of the following sentence?




      If you have (any) questions on the subject, feel free to ask me.




      As an English speaker would you leave any out?










      share|improve this question















      Do I need to use any in the following sentence? Does any change the meaning of the following sentence?




      If you have (any) questions on the subject, feel free to ask me.




      As an English speaker would you leave any out?







      determiners interrogatives some-vs-any






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Dec 28 '18 at 3:36









      CJ Dennis

      1,749717




      1,749717










      asked Dec 27 '18 at 18:05









      subhajit dalalsubhajit dalal

      12118




      12118




















          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          8














          Both are correct but the use of any makes it a bit more welcoming in a sense that you will answer all questions on the subject.






          share|improve this answer




















          • OTOH, a snarky lecturer might still respond "When I said 'any questions', I didn't mean something that silly."
            – Barmar
            Dec 27 '18 at 23:12


















          1














          "Any" is a qualifier. It specifies what sort of questions are welcome.




          If you have questions on the subject, feel free to ask me.




          A student might feel that the question must be at least a certain quality before they should ask it.




          If you have any questions on the subject, feel free to ask me.




          The teacher is saying that all questions on the subject are welcome, no matter what the student might feel. It is friendlier and more likely to result in questions being asked than without "any".



          Without "any" the student might assume only "good" questions, only "thoughtful" questions, only "short" questions, and so on. Including "any" is an attempt to counter the student's preconceptions about what sort of questions are welcome.



          Taken very literally, "questions" means two or more, and "any questions" means one or more, even though it's grammatically plural. Most people would not be so pedantic in their interpretation of the sentence though.



          As an English speaker, I would be much more likely to include "any" than to leave it out. It feels much more natural that way.






          share|improve this answer




















            Your Answer








            StackExchange.ready(function()
            var channelOptions =
            tags: "".split(" "),
            id: "481"
            ;
            initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

            StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
            // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
            if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
            StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
            createEditor();
            );

            else
            createEditor();

            );

            function createEditor()
            StackExchange.prepareEditor(
            heartbeatType: 'answer',
            autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
            convertImagesToLinks: false,
            noModals: true,
            showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
            reputationToPostImages: null,
            bindNavPrevention: true,
            postfix: "",
            imageUploader:
            brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
            contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
            allowUrls: true
            ,
            noCode: true, onDemand: true,
            discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
            ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
            );



            );













            draft saved

            draft discarded


















            StackExchange.ready(
            function ()
            StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f191021%2fif-you-have-any-questions%23new-answer', 'question_page');

            );

            Post as a guest















            Required, but never shown

























            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes








            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

            votes






            active

            oldest

            votes









            8














            Both are correct but the use of any makes it a bit more welcoming in a sense that you will answer all questions on the subject.






            share|improve this answer




















            • OTOH, a snarky lecturer might still respond "When I said 'any questions', I didn't mean something that silly."
              – Barmar
              Dec 27 '18 at 23:12















            8














            Both are correct but the use of any makes it a bit more welcoming in a sense that you will answer all questions on the subject.






            share|improve this answer




















            • OTOH, a snarky lecturer might still respond "When I said 'any questions', I didn't mean something that silly."
              – Barmar
              Dec 27 '18 at 23:12













            8












            8








            8






            Both are correct but the use of any makes it a bit more welcoming in a sense that you will answer all questions on the subject.






            share|improve this answer












            Both are correct but the use of any makes it a bit more welcoming in a sense that you will answer all questions on the subject.







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered Dec 27 '18 at 18:07









            Daniil ManokhinDaniil Manokhin

            1,467117




            1,467117











            • OTOH, a snarky lecturer might still respond "When I said 'any questions', I didn't mean something that silly."
              – Barmar
              Dec 27 '18 at 23:12
















            • OTOH, a snarky lecturer might still respond "When I said 'any questions', I didn't mean something that silly."
              – Barmar
              Dec 27 '18 at 23:12















            OTOH, a snarky lecturer might still respond "When I said 'any questions', I didn't mean something that silly."
            – Barmar
            Dec 27 '18 at 23:12




            OTOH, a snarky lecturer might still respond "When I said 'any questions', I didn't mean something that silly."
            – Barmar
            Dec 27 '18 at 23:12













            1














            "Any" is a qualifier. It specifies what sort of questions are welcome.




            If you have questions on the subject, feel free to ask me.




            A student might feel that the question must be at least a certain quality before they should ask it.




            If you have any questions on the subject, feel free to ask me.




            The teacher is saying that all questions on the subject are welcome, no matter what the student might feel. It is friendlier and more likely to result in questions being asked than without "any".



            Without "any" the student might assume only "good" questions, only "thoughtful" questions, only "short" questions, and so on. Including "any" is an attempt to counter the student's preconceptions about what sort of questions are welcome.



            Taken very literally, "questions" means two or more, and "any questions" means one or more, even though it's grammatically plural. Most people would not be so pedantic in their interpretation of the sentence though.



            As an English speaker, I would be much more likely to include "any" than to leave it out. It feels much more natural that way.






            share|improve this answer

























              1














              "Any" is a qualifier. It specifies what sort of questions are welcome.




              If you have questions on the subject, feel free to ask me.




              A student might feel that the question must be at least a certain quality before they should ask it.




              If you have any questions on the subject, feel free to ask me.




              The teacher is saying that all questions on the subject are welcome, no matter what the student might feel. It is friendlier and more likely to result in questions being asked than without "any".



              Without "any" the student might assume only "good" questions, only "thoughtful" questions, only "short" questions, and so on. Including "any" is an attempt to counter the student's preconceptions about what sort of questions are welcome.



              Taken very literally, "questions" means two or more, and "any questions" means one or more, even though it's grammatically plural. Most people would not be so pedantic in their interpretation of the sentence though.



              As an English speaker, I would be much more likely to include "any" than to leave it out. It feels much more natural that way.






              share|improve this answer























                1












                1








                1






                "Any" is a qualifier. It specifies what sort of questions are welcome.




                If you have questions on the subject, feel free to ask me.




                A student might feel that the question must be at least a certain quality before they should ask it.




                If you have any questions on the subject, feel free to ask me.




                The teacher is saying that all questions on the subject are welcome, no matter what the student might feel. It is friendlier and more likely to result in questions being asked than without "any".



                Without "any" the student might assume only "good" questions, only "thoughtful" questions, only "short" questions, and so on. Including "any" is an attempt to counter the student's preconceptions about what sort of questions are welcome.



                Taken very literally, "questions" means two or more, and "any questions" means one or more, even though it's grammatically plural. Most people would not be so pedantic in their interpretation of the sentence though.



                As an English speaker, I would be much more likely to include "any" than to leave it out. It feels much more natural that way.






                share|improve this answer












                "Any" is a qualifier. It specifies what sort of questions are welcome.




                If you have questions on the subject, feel free to ask me.




                A student might feel that the question must be at least a certain quality before they should ask it.




                If you have any questions on the subject, feel free to ask me.




                The teacher is saying that all questions on the subject are welcome, no matter what the student might feel. It is friendlier and more likely to result in questions being asked than without "any".



                Without "any" the student might assume only "good" questions, only "thoughtful" questions, only "short" questions, and so on. Including "any" is an attempt to counter the student's preconceptions about what sort of questions are welcome.



                Taken very literally, "questions" means two or more, and "any questions" means one or more, even though it's grammatically plural. Most people would not be so pedantic in their interpretation of the sentence though.



                As an English speaker, I would be much more likely to include "any" than to leave it out. It feels much more natural that way.







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered Dec 28 '18 at 0:58









                CJ DennisCJ Dennis

                1,749717




                1,749717



























                    draft saved

                    draft discarded
















































                    Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language Learners Stack Exchange!


                    • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                    But avoid


                    • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                    • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

                    To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.





                    Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.


                    Please pay close attention to the following guidance:


                    • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                    But avoid


                    • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                    • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

                    To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                    draft saved


                    draft discarded














                    StackExchange.ready(
                    function ()
                    StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f191021%2fif-you-have-any-questions%23new-answer', 'question_page');

                    );

                    Post as a guest















                    Required, but never shown





















































                    Required, but never shown














                    Required, but never shown












                    Required, but never shown







                    Required, but never shown

































                    Required, but never shown














                    Required, but never shown












                    Required, but never shown







                    Required, but never shown






                    Popular posts from this blog

                    Peggy Mitchell

                    Palaiologos

                    The Forum (Inglewood, California)