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The stack exchange question "Is there any concrete-solid proofs of this space odyssey?" made me want to edit it to remove the s in proofs (someone with enough flair did), however it made me wonder about the plurality of any and proofs.

So please enlighten me about which one is correct.

Is there any concrete-solid proof of this space odyssey?
Are there any concrete-solid proofs of this space odyssey?

If the asker wants to hear about at least one proof, the first one is OK, but what is correct if he wants at least two pieces of evidence?

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5 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

My grammar book (English Grammar, David Daniels and Barbara Daniels) reports that the indefinite pronoun any is either singular or plural.

Someone asked him for a match, but Joe didn't have any.
Do you have any tips to pass on?
I don't have any choice.

In your example, I would use "Is there any concrete-solid proof of this space odyssey?" because if there isn't a single proof, then there aren't two proofs either.

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up vote 7 down vote

If you begin the sentence with the singular copula (is) you are expected to make the object agree in number. Breaking down the SO sentence to its essentials, we have:

Is there any proofs?

This is grammatically incorrect. We can make these agree in number in two ways (as your own examples do):

Is there any proof?

Are there any proofs?

Either is correct. "Proof" or "proofs" doesn't matter as long as the number agrees with the number of the copula.

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up vote 2 down vote

"Proof" is usually treated as a mass noun, and so has no plural:

"I have proof that ... "

"There is no proof that ... "

"You haven't any proof that ... "

It can be used as a count noun, but usually only in special senses, such as a formal (mathematical or logical) proof:

"His book contains several new proofs of these theorems".

I would find it strange to read "They produced several proofs of his innocence".

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Exactly my thoughts too – mplungjan Mar 23 '11 at 12:08
Agreed; galley proofs are almost always plural, mathematical proofs can either be plural or singular, but in the vernacular sense (Is there any proof of X?) it's almost always singular. – Peter Shor Mar 23 '11 at 17:48
"Several proofs of his innocence" is an entirely possible phrase. It would imply that, for example, he had a solid alibi and the law did not forbid what he was supposed to have done. That is certainly a strange way to think (if you're not a lawyer), but I don't think it's ungrammatical. – TimLymington Nov 11 '11 at 15:18
up vote 2 down vote

You're more likely to encounter the plural in formal logic, maths, etc., where a given proposition may have multiple proofs. In other contexts it's more common to lump all the supporting evidence together as (singular) proof.

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up vote 0 down vote

'Is there any proof?' sounds better, but proofs is OK because you can say 'evidences'

'Present your evidences to the court.'

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I suspect evidences is legalese for "items to be shown as evidence". I personally wouldn't accept it for "multiple logical justifications". – FumbleFingers Mar 23 '11 at 17:44
I don't believe that "evidences" can be plural in this sense, but "justifications" certainly can. However, the fact that "justifications" can be plural is not evidence that "proofs" can be plural, because English is not logical in these matters. – Peter Shor Mar 23 '11 at 17:50

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