Timeline for Use of the word "any" with imperative verbs. Singular or Plural
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
13 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jul 17 at 17:57 | comment | added | Barmar | I've added this to the answer. I didn't use your technical terms because I'm not familiar with them myself. | |
| Jul 17 at 17:57 | history | edited | Barmar | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Jul 16 at 22:01 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | Certainly, but doesn't the inherent ambiguity need to be made clear, expounded? | |
| Jul 15 at 23:24 | comment | added | Barmar | @EdwinAshworth Right, but as I say in my answer, the context clarifies. | |
| Jul 15 at 22:27 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | 'Go any time you want.' Without context, this could be semelfactive or iterative. // 'We don't need to do any more today, and I know you have to meet Billy. Go any time you want.' // 'You're always welcome to use the holiday cottage. Go any time you want.' | |
| Jul 15 at 18:47 | comment | added | Barmar | As I said, it depends onthe context. If you know that the goals is to have a clean deck of cards, you're obviously expected to remove all the broken cards. | |
| Jul 15 at 18:37 | comment | added | user522546 | I think your second example is good, but could mean just removing one, removing every, or removing some, correct? I don't think it necessarily means "every"? In addition, what if you took off the "from the deck?" "Take any card that is torn" would seem to still mean singular. But having "from the deck" indicates kind of a broader indication that they need the deck cleaned up. | |
| Jul 15 at 18:35 | comment | added | Barmar | I've changed my examples to both be imperative. I don't think it changes the answer. | |
| Jul 15 at 18:33 | history | edited | Barmar | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Jul 15 at 18:31 | comment | added | user522546 | This is why I asked about the imperative tense specifically. | |
| Jul 15 at 18:27 | comment | added | Barmar | I'm not sure what would be a good example. Maybe only intangibles like "idea"? Do you have a suggestion? | |
| Jul 15 at 18:24 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | Actually, these examples make the problem of the different readings clearer than the answer at the duplicate. Can you add an example which is indeterminate? | |
| Jul 15 at 18:19 | history | answered | Barmar | CC BY-SA 4.0 |