Page 79 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford

Any fog will clear by noon. (= If there is any fog, it will clear by noon.)
Perhaps you could correct any mistakes I've made.
Any can be used to emphasise the idea of open choice: 'it doesn't matter whol what/which'.
You can borrow any book you like.
For details of this use, see paragraph 5 below.
2 any and some
Any often contrasts with some, which is most common in affirmative clauses. Compare:
I need some razor blades. Have you got any razor blades?
Sorry, I haven't got any razor blades.
For details of the difference, see 547.
3 any and not any
Any alone does not have a negative meaning. It is only negative when used with not.
She's unhappy because she hasn't got any friends. (NOT •.• because she 1w:s g6t alZyjrietzth.) .
No (see 376) means the same as not any, but is more emphatic. She's got no friends.
Not any cannot begin a sentence; no is used instead. No cigarette is harmless. (NOT b'6t any cigarette . ..) No tourists came to the town that year.
We do not usually use not any with singuJar countable nouns. She hasn't got a job. (NOT She ham't g6t anyj6b.)
4 nouns with and without any
With an uncountable or plural noun, any usually suggests the idea of an indefinite amount or indefinite number. Compare:
-
Is there any water in that can?
Is there water on the moon? (The interest is in the existence of water, not its
amount.)
Dad hasn't got any hair. (He has lost the amount he had.)
Birds have feathers, not hair. (No idea of amount.)
None ofher children have got any sense. (Not even a small amount.) Annlookslikehermother, butshehasn'tgotblueeyes. (NOT••• she.'tttsn'tg6t
any bltte eyes - people have a definite number of eyes: two.) 5 any ='it doesn't matter who/which/what'
Any can be used to emphasise the idea of free choice, with the meaning of 'it doesn't matter who/which/what'. With this meaning, any is common in affirmative clauses as well as questions and negatives, and is often used with singuJar countable nouns as well as uncountables and plurals. In speech, it is stressed.
Ask any doctor - they'll all tell you that alcohol is a poison. She goes out with any boy who asks her.
When shall I come?-Any time.
We can use just any if necessary to make the meaning clear.
•
any 55
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