Timeline for "Anything" vs. "any thing"
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
5 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 13, 2012 at 13:35 | comment | added | Waggers | @Mehrdad A person in this context is included as a thing. If I had seen someone in the garden and was asked "did you see anything in the garden", my answer would be yes (because they're included in "anything") - I wouldn't say "no, I saw a person". So the "or person" in Neil's example is redundant. | |
| Mar 29, 2012 at 9:09 | comment | added | user541686 | What about Neil's example below? IMHO neither is is more 'generally' applicable than the other, from the example... or how about: "I eat anything." versus "I eat any thing."? The latter seems a little funny, considering that it emphasizes that it eats any thing, even if it's not edible. | |
| Jul 8, 2011 at 12:49 | vote | accept | Daniel | ||
| Aug 30, 2014 at 17:01 | |||||
| Jul 4, 2011 at 13:28 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | Here's an NGram showing that the two-word form has all but died out following a big switchover in the mid-1800s. It's still valid, but it has a definitely archaic overtones. Though I agree it would be pedantic to edit a post just for that. | |
| Jul 4, 2011 at 13:15 | history | answered | Waggers | CC BY-SA 3.0 |