Part of speech??? "Any"

[zoo_keeper]

I'm pretty sure this is a mistake, but I wanted to check in with more esteemed grammarians...

 

While DD was playing some grammar games on SpellingCity.com, she was asked to identify the part of speech of "any" in the following sentence: "Any child would like candy."

 

Before looking at the options, I thought "any" was operating as an adjective modifying the noun "child." However, the answer was "noun." While "any" sure can operate as a noun, I'm convinced that the program is incorrect in this example?

 

What do you think? Thanks in advance for your input!

[zenjenn]

I would have thought adjective, too, or maybe a determiner in some cases. (Such as "Any meat we purchase is fresh.") You could argue "any" is being used to determine the noun the same such as "the".

 

I don't see noun at all? I guess they are thinking in terms of use such as "We don't have any." I still don't see that as a noun. Any what? That just looks like an incomplete sentence to me.

Edited November 4, 2011 by zenjenn

[Homeschooling Again]

adjective -- they're wrong

[tarahillmom]

Even if any is a subject it would be an indefinite pronoun not a noun. Also if child was an appositive it would have to be in commas. I would agree with you that any is modifying child so any is being used as an adjective. I looked it up in the dictionary, and it doesn't list any as a noun. Hope this helps clear it up.

[zenjenn]

"Any child would like candy."

 

See in this sentence isn't "any" is a determiner, not a adjective? It is not defining any attributes. It is being used in the same context one would use "the", "a", "one", "that", "no", "my", etc.

 

So I just looked it up on Wikipedia, where "any" is classified as an elective determiner or a quantifier.

 

I found this there and it looks right to me:

 

Alternative determiners: another, other, somebody else, different

Articles: a, an, the

Cardinal numbers: zero, one, two, fifty, infinite, etc.

Degree determiners/Partitive determiners: many, much, few, little, couple, several, most

Demonstratives: this, that, these, those, which

Disjunctive determiners: either, neither

Distributive determiners: each, every

Elective determiners: any, either, whichever

Equative determiners: the same

Evaluative determiners: such, that, so

Exclamative determiners: what eyes!

Existential determiners: some, any

Interrogative and relative determiners: which, what, whichever, whatever

Multal determiners: a lot of, many, several, much

Negative determiners: no, neither

Paucal determiners: a few, a little, some

Personal determiners: we teachers, you guys

Possessive determiners: my, your, our, his, her, etc.

Quantifiers: all, few, many, several, some, every, each, any, no, etc.

Sufficiency determiners: enough, sufficient, plenty

Uniquitive determiners: the only, the, this, that, these, those

Universal determiners: all, both

Edited November 5, 2011 by zenjenn

[boscopup]

See in this sentence isn't "any" is a determiner, not a adjective? It is not defining any attributes. It is being used the same way one would use "the", "a", "one", "that".

 

Some programs call all of those "adjectives". FLL is one of them. We've learned "any' ("the", "a", "one", "that") as adjectives in FLL3. There are debate threads around here that discuss adjective vs. determiner though. :D

[zenjenn]

Oh, well I disagree with FLL then! An adjective describes the attributes of a noun. I can see the argument, but where it falls apart to me is:

 

a) the determiner doesn't assign any particular attribute to the noun and..

b) a determiner can be used to determine a noun with an adjective already describing it!

 

I could say "Any young child would like candy." Young is the adjective. Any is the determiner. Determiners are different. They don't require a serial comma when placed in a sentence with adjectives, for example. I also can't use most of these determiners as a predicate as I can with real adjectives, such as "The girl is beautiful." I can't say "The girl is any." (Though I suppose I can say "The girl is his." or "The girl is neither.")

 

Mostly I don't like the idea of calling determiners adjectives because determiners don't describe anything about the nouns they determine. If I discuss adjectives to my students I'm teaching about using (or avoiding) descriptive, colorful language. Calling a bunch of words like "the", "a", and "any" adjectives just reduces clarity when discussing descriptive writing to budding writers, IMO.

Edited November 5, 2011 by zenjenn

[tarahillmom]

Determiners are not part of traditional grammar. They are a subset of both pronouns and adjectives. If you are teaching traditional grammar this is not going to necessarily be taught. Most dictionaries are still only going to list the 8 traditional parts of speech(noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, interjection, conjunction, verb, and preposition) I would teach these as adjectives since standardized tests such as ACT and SAT tend to follow traditional grammar. JMO.

[zoo_keeper]

Thanks for all of the replies! I'm glad I'm not the only one who disagreed with the website.

 

And regarding "a, an, the", etc., we use MCT and GWG where these words are taught as article adjectives. This makes sense to me, since "the child" refers to a specific child, whereas "a child" is any old child. Thus, they describe the noun "child." However, I respect that there are differing opinions on the matter.

 

Thanks again!

[leeannpal]

Even if any is a subject it would be an indefinite pronoun not a noun. Also if child was an appositive it would have to be in commas. I would agree with you that any is modifying child so any is being used as an adjective. I looked it up in the dictionary, and it doesn't list any as a noun. Hope this helps clear it up.

 

:iagree:The word "any" cannot be a noun.

[Ellie]

It's the subject of the sentence. As such it must either be a noun or a pronoun. I say pronoun.

 

"Determiner" is not a part of speech. It describes what a part of speech does, but it is not, itself, one of the eight parts of speech.

[Mommyfaithe]

Even if any is a subject it would be an indefinite pronoun not a noun. Also if child was an appositive it would have to be in commas. I would agree with you that any is modifying child so any is being used as an adjective. I looked it up in the dictionary, and it doesn't list any as a noun. Hope this helps clear it up.

 

:iagree: with this.

[Mommyfaithe]

It's the subject of the sentence. As such it must either be a noun or a pronoun. I say pronoun.

 

"Determiner" is not a part of speech. It describes what a part of speech does, but it is not, itself, one of the eight parts of speech.

 

I think child is the subject and any answers how many or how much or which one, which makes it an adjective. If the word child was not in the sentence, the word" any". Would have fulfilled a different job...being the subject answering who....and thus would have been a pronoun.

 

English is a tricky little bugger...isn't it?

 

Faithe

[Momling]

Determiners are not part of traditional grammar. They are a subset of both pronouns and adjectives. If you are teaching traditional grammar this is not going to necessarily be taught. Most dictionaries are still only going to list the 8 traditional parts of speech(noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, interjection, conjunction, verb, and preposition) I would teach these as adjectives since standardized tests such as ACT and SAT tend to follow traditional grammar. JMO.

 

I'd be pretty surprised if standardized tests like the SAT or ACT test a student's knowledge of parts of speech -- they certainly didn't when I took them.

 

As for my own kids, I teach what we know in the field of linguistics now, not what was thought 100 years ago. It's the same with anything in the sciences... We know more now than we used to. Being as accurate and truthful as possible is more important than trying to maintain an inaccurate system simply because we learned it that way.

[Momling]

"Determiner" is not a part of speech. It describes what a part of speech does, but it is not, itself, one of the eight parts of speech.

 

I don't understand... Lots of the closed categories -- like conjunctions, have a syntactic role. Is a conjunction not a "part of speech" in your mind? Does a category have to have a semantic meaning to be a "part of speech"?

[Ellie]

I think child is the subject and any answers how many or how much or which one, which makes it an adjective. If the word child was not in the sentence, the word" any". Would have fulfilled a different job...being the subject answering who....and thus would have been a pronoun.

 

English is a tricky little bugger...isn't it?

 

Faithe

But if you remove "any" and leave "child" you don't have a sentence. You have a fragment.

 

"Any" is a pronoun regardless of its job. A pronoun can be the subject of a sentence.

[Ellie]

Determiners are not part of traditional grammar. They are a subset of both pronouns and adjectives. If you are teaching traditional grammar this is not going to necessarily be taught. Most dictionaries are still only going to list the 8 traditional parts of speech(noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, interjection, conjunction, verb, and preposition) I would teach these as adjectives since standardized tests such as ACT and SAT tend to follow traditional grammar. JMO.

:iagree:

[zenjenn]

I also do not remember being tested on grammar on the SAT. I remember vocabulary, analogies, reading comprehension, and being asked to identify correctly constructed sentences. I don't remember anything covering grammar on a technical level. Has this changed in recent years?

[boscopup]

But if you remove "any" and leave "child" you don't have a sentence. You have a fragment.

 

By that argument, "the" is the subject of the sentence: The table is flat.

 

Clearly, that's not the case. ;)

 

"child" is the subject. You could replace "any" with "A" or "The" or "That" or "One". Those words (adjectives or determiners, whichever grammar camp you're in ;) ) refer to "child". It's the child that would like the candy. It answers the question of who is doing the action. "Any would like the candy." doesn't sound right to me.

[boscopup]

I also do not remember being tested on grammar on the SAT. I remember vocabulary, analogies, reading comprehension, and being asked to identify correctly constructed sentences. I don't remember anything covering grammar on a technical level. Has this changed in recent years?

 

You guys are doing better than me. I can't recall anything on the SAT or ACT tests, and I took both (and did well on both). I seriously have NO clue what those tests contained. :lol:

[Mommyfaithe]

By that argument, "the" is the subject of the sentence: The table is flat.

 

Clearly, that's not the case. ;)

 

"child" is the subject. You could replace "any" with "A" or "The" or "That" or "One". Those words (adjectives or determiners, whichever grammar camp you're in ;) ) refer to "child". It's the child that would like the candy. It answers the question of who is doing the action. "Any would like the candy." doesn't sound right to me.

 

:iagree:

[Ellie]

By that argument, "the" is the subject of the sentence: The table is flat.

 

Clearly, that's not the case. ;)

But "the" is not a noun or a pronoun so it cannot be the subject.

 

"child" is the subject. You could replace "any" with "A" or "The" or "That" or "One". Those words (adjectives or determiners, whichever grammar camp you're in ;) ) refer to "child". It's the child that would like the candy. It answers the question of who is doing the action. "Any would like the candy." doesn't sound right to me.

Well, the grammar instruction that the OP asked about says "any" is the subject. So far, I haven't read any good arguments that prove otherwise. :)

[The Governess]

It seems to me that "any" in that sentence is functioning as an adjective that answers the question "which?"

 

Which child would like candy? Any child.

 

So, I vote that "any" is an indefinite pronoun but in this sentence, it is acting as an adjective and modifying the noun "child." On the sentence diagram, child is the simple subject, would like is the simple predicate, and any would be placed below child as a modifier.

 

But I'm a grammar newbie, so... :D

[VaKim]

By that argument, "the" is the subject of the sentence: The table is flat.

 

Clearly, that's not the case. ;)

 

"child" is the subject. You could replace "any" with "A" or "The" or "That" or "One". Those words (adjectives or determiners, whichever grammar camp you're in ;) ) refer to "child". It's the child that would like the candy. It answers the question of who is doing the action. "Any would like the candy." doesn't sound right to me.

 

:iagree:

 

It is functioning as an adjective (or determiner) in this sentence, just as stated above. If the sentence were "Any of the children would like the candy," then it would be the subject, as children is the object of a preposition, which can never function as the subject.

 

http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/durrus/153/gramch20.html

Edited November 6, 2011 by VaKim

[Joy at Home]

:iagree:

 

It is functioning as an adjective (or determiner) in this sentence, just as stated above. If the sentence were "Any of the children would like the candy," then it would be the subject, as children is the object of a preposition, which can never function as the subject.

 

http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/durrus/153/gramch20.html

 

:iagree: "Any" can function as an indefinite pronoun, but it is not here. It is not replacing any noun (child) but modifying it; thus, it is serving as adjective.

 

Lisa

[Mommyfaithe]

Woohooo....Grammar Wars!

:D

:lol::lol:

[Mommyfaithe]

But "the" is not a noun or a pronoun so it cannot be the subject.

 

 

Well, the grammar instruction that the OP asked about says "any" is the subject. So far, I haven't read any good arguments that prove otherwise. :)

 

How about "Any table is flat.".

 

"any" acts as a modifier here as well. Table is still the subject/ noun. "is" is the verb and "flat" is the predicate adjective.

 

Any child likes candy

 

Any= adjective / modifier telling which

Child= subject/ noun ( common)

Likes= verb

Candy= direct object.

 

Any dog likes bones.

Any girl likes pink.

Any punk likes safety pins.

 

Lol....

This is fun!

 

Oy...I am such a nerd it is sad.

 

Any nerd likes grammar. :lol:

[Ellie]

Woohooo....Grammar Wars!

:D

:lol::lol:

:lol::lol::lol:

[The Governess]

I'm sticking with my original assertion.

 

"Any" is the subject (indefinite pronoun, not noun as I originally asserted - duh) and child is an appositive. Appositives do not need to be separated out with commas, ie, "My sister Jane won the race." Jane is an appositive while sister is the subject.

 

 

Hmm. The difference to me is this: if you left out the word Jane, it does not change the meaning of the sentence. If you leave out the word child, it does change the meaning of the sentence. Also, while you don't *have* to put commas around Jane, you could, and the sentence would still make sense: My sister, Jane, won the race. If you try that with the other sentence it doesn't work: Any, child, would like candy.

[Testimony]

Hmm. The difference to me is this: if you left out the word Jane, it does not change the meaning of the sentence. If you leave out the word child, it does change the meaning of the sentence. Also, while you don't *have* to put commas around Jane, you could, and the sentence would still make sense: My sister, Jane, won the race. If you try that with the other sentence it doesn't work: Any, child, would like candy.

 

:iagree: the whole premise of an appositive is that if you remove it the sentence is still a complete thought. If you say, "any would like candy," it is very vague as if something is missing. According to Random House Pocket Grammar book, "anybody or anyone" are pronouns modified by the word "any." Zoo Keeper is correct that "any" is an adjective.

 

Hey, Zoo Keeper! Maybe your child can write a letter to the creators of the game and you might get a free game! Just a thought!

 

Blessings,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[zoo_keeper]

Hey, Zoo Keeper! Maybe your child can write a letter to the creators of the game and you might get a free game! Just a thought!

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

Oooooh, I like that idea. Thanks!

 

And thanks, all, for all of the input. I had no idea that the question would turn out so contentious! :)

[morosophe]

Okay, here's "any" as an indefinite pronoun and the subject of the sentence: Any of the children would like candy.

 

But as it is, it is an adjective (or a determiner, if you're going to be all modern linguist about it, I guess).

 

Who said you can't have multiple adjectives modifying the same noun? "Any young European child would like candy." Both "young" and "European" modify "child," in that case, along with "any."

 

And the rule about appositives is, indeed, that the sentence still makes sense--and makes the same sense--when you take it out as when you leave it in.

 

As I learned it, the rule about using commas with appositives is that you do so when what the second noun phrase refers to isn't in any doubt. "Shakespeare's masterpiece Hamlet is the most-disputed play in literary criticism," besides being a somewhat doubtful sentence, (because I made it up off the top of my head,) cannot have the commas around it, because Hamlet is not the only work by Shakespeare that is generally considered a masterpiece. "The 'Scottish play,' Macbeth, is generally considered to be bad luck to call by name among those in the theater tradition." Here, the commas are fine.

 

Did anyone else learn appositives this way?

 

Edited to say: Ooh, and Wikipedia agrees with me on the commas. See "Restrictive versus non-restrictive" in their article "Apposition."

Edited November 6, 2011 by morosophe
Checked Wikipedia, that source of all knowledge. :p