What kind of use of any

Question

Hi everybody,I just saw this example:- Would you like only little milk into your coffee, or would you like much more?- You can put any into it, 'cos I like milk in any amounts in my coffee.I can't say why "amounts" is in plural in the second sentence. As far as I know it can be countable because we talk about different-sized portions in this particular sentence (if I'm right) but I don't understand why it is in plural. I thought it has the same kind of grammar as the following one:- Would you like to settle down in Budapest, in Nagykanizsa or in Miskolc?- We can choose any town to settle down in, 'cos all the three have their advantages and disadvantages.Is "amounts" correct in the first example? I thought it takes singular in this case:2 used with singular countable nouns to refer to one of a number of things or people, when it does not matter which onehttp://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/anyPlease explain it if that "amounts" is correct in the first example.Thanks for your help in advance.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Hole One a New SeeIs "amounts" correct in the first example?

I'd say that it is common enough in casual conversation but should be avoided in careful writing.

CalifJim · Answer

Hole One a New Seeexample

Where in the world are you getting these examples? They have 'cos instead of because, for one thing, and there is more than one grammatical error among them, so I wouldn't trust them as a source for learning English.

Hole One a New See-
Would you like only a little milk in your coffee, or ...?
You can put any amount in it, ~~'cos I like milk in any amounts~~ because I like any amount of milk in my coffee.

As shown.

CJ

Hole One a New See · Answer

Thank you very much, Mister Micawber <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Hole One a New See · Answer

Thank you very much, CJ

To be honest, I didn't check it thouroughly. I only copy-paste this example. So I'm sorry for my negligence. For example I understand the first error (at least I guess that). I think this is the same difference as in the following examples (now these are my own examples):

I have little money. I can't buy enough food. Could you give me a little money? I will pay it back as soon as possible.

I don't trust that source (it is just one source). I also didn't understand why it is good for them that they use this " 'cos' " (I think this one was not my best sentence). There were other mistakes in that learning material (if I can identify them obviously then it is really suspicious). The ONLY argument for this source is that it is the ONLY Hungarian source (on internet) which follows a direction and start from the very beginning. And I would like to fill the gaps in my knowledge. And this is the thing that Grammar in Use (for example) can't provide (because that is an overview of grammar [therefore it doesn't follow a step-by-step approac) There are other (better) Hungarian sources but they give units in a 'loose' form. I mean, you don't know where you should start reading. Sometimes you also can't search for units efficiently. The other (not Hungarian) book is Headway. That is much better and I never had to ask about the parts of that book. But that one has too many repeats if we compare it with the Hungarian source.

So (of course) I always try to strengthen it with good sources (for example Grammar in Use, Advanced Grammar in Use), with monolingual dictionaries (OALD, Longman, MacMillan, Cambridge). These dictionaries have parts where they explain particular grammars so I rely on it. And also I ask you about these

It is now a little bit longer comment. Maybe it is unclear at some parts (or/and full of errors). Feel free to correct these (and also I would be grateful if you did so).

What kind of use of any

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