are there/is there+a,an/any in questions

[nagyviktor110]

Hi there!

I'm wondering which sentence is correct. And, what are the differences if the sentences are correct?

Is there any milk in the fridge?
Are there any milk in the fridge?
Is there a milk in the fridge?

Is there any people in the house?
Are there any people in the hose?
Is there people in the house?
Are there people in the house? (What happens if I ommit the any of the sencence? Is it still correct?)


Is there any egg in the kitchen?
Are there any eggs in the kitchen?
Is there an egg in the kitchen?
Are there eggs in the kitchen?


My uncertainty goes on:
Do you have a house?
Do you have any house?

Must I use "any" in every question?


Thanks for the explanation. I've been looking for the clear answer but it is still obscure.

 

[Copyright]

Is there any milk in the fridge?
Are there any milk in the fridge?
Is there a milk in the fridge? ... if you're referring to a container of milk.

Is there any people in the house? People is plural
Are there any people in the house?
Is there people in the house? People is plural.
Are there people in the house?

Is there any egg in the kitchen? But you can say, "Is there any egg in the sandwich."
Are there any eggs in the kitchen?
Is there an egg in the kitchen?
Are there eggs in the kitchen?

Do you have a house?
Do you have any house?

Native English speakers might be able to conjure up some meaning for the ones I've marked with a , but I graded them based on common usage.

 

[Keith Bradford]

1. Is there any milk in the fridge?
   
2. Are there any milk in the fridge?
   
3. Is there a milk in the fridge?
   
4. Is there any people in the house?
   
5. Are there any people in the house?
   
6. Is there people in the house?
   
7. Are there people in the house? (... Is it still correct?)
8. Is there any egg in the kitchen? ? [This means any dried or otherwise processed egg]
   
9. Are there any eggs in the kitchen?
   
10. Is there an egg in the kitchen? ? [This means that I think there's a single egg there but I'm not sure.]
    
11. Are there eggs in the kitchen?
    
12. Do you have a house?
    
13. Do you have any house?

Must I use "any" in every question?

No, by no means; it would normally be wrong with a singular as in 13.
If you use any with a singular, it often refers to the substance - milk or egg in examples 1 and 8.

But as you can see, any is often used in the plural, and in that case it's more or less optional - compare examples 5 & 7, 9 & 11. All these are good.

Examples 2, 4 & 6 are wrong because the verb is wrong.

[Cross-posted with Copyright. As you can see, I've put a question mark against a couple that he marked wrong; it's for the reasons he suggested.]

 

[nagyviktor110]

Thank you for the reply.

I'm trying to figure out the logic, thus I'll write some examples.

If I am not mistaken, these are the best options:

Liquid materials:
Is there any milk in the fridge?
Is there any beer in the glass?
Is there any soup in the bowl?
Is there any water in the tub?
Is there any blood on my T-shirt?

Things I can count each ones
Are there any eggs in the kitchen?
Are there any people in the house?
Are there any balls on the pitch?
Are there any umbrellas at the corner?
Are there any computers on the table?

Things I can't touch
Do you have any ideas?
Do you have any questions?
Do you have any recommendations?
Did I do any mistakes?

 

[The Newt]

[...]
Are there any computers on the table?

Things I can't touch
Do you have any ideas?
Do you have any questions?
Do you have any recommendations?
Did I make any mistakes?

You can also ask "Are there any ideas?" etc.

 

[Copyright]

You were good until, ironically, the last one.

Did I make any mistakes?

But you got the "any" right.

 

[Keith Bradford]

I note that you entitled the first group "Liquid materials". This is misleading - solids and gases can come into this category too:

Is there any wood in the woodshed?
Is there any gold in those hills?
Is there any air in that tyre?
Etc.

The essential point is that these are, in the case given, non-countables.

 

[nagyviktor110]

Thank you!

 

[nagyviktor110]

Hey again!

I've read some forums and opinions in this question recently which confused me. So I'd like to clarify it with some examples.
Which one is correct?

1)Are there any girls in the street?
2)Is there any girl in the street?
3)Is there a girl in the street?

4)Are there any questions?
5)Is there any question?
6)Is there a question in the text?

7)Are there any idea?
8)Is there any idea?
9)Is there a idea?
10)Do you have a good idea?
11)Do you have any ideas?

I know that some of these sentences are correct but I'd like to know if the onther ones are correct.

Can I use "girl" as a countable and as an uncountable noun too? Same with "question" and "idea".

Thanks in advance.

 

[Erebos12345]

Hi

Hey again!

I've read some forums and opinions in this question recently which confused me. So I'd like to clarify it with some examples.
Which one is correct?

1)Are there any girls in the street?
2)Is there any girl in the street?
3)Is there a girl in the street?

4)Are there any questions?
5)Is there any question?
6)Is there a question in the text?Grammatically correct, but sounds weird. What are you trying to ask here? It sounds like there's a paragraph of text and you're asking if there's an interrogative sentence in the text, as opposed to declarative sentences. Do you mean Is there a question about the text? Or better yet, are there any questions about the text?

7)Are there any idea?
8)Is there any idea?
9)Is there an idea? Grammatically correct, but doesn't sound idiomatic. When would you use this?
10)Do you have a good idea?
11)Do you have any ideas?

I know that some of these sentences are correct but I'd like to know if the onther ones are correct.

Can I use "girl" as a countable and as an uncountable noun too? Same with "question" and "idea".

Thanks in advance.

 

[nagyviktor110]

To sum up this topic. It's a question of countability. If the noun is countable or uncountable.

Are these following nouns countable?
-idea
-question
-problem
-issue
-difference
-opinion
-girl
-child
-animal

If I follow the pattern I'd say that the following ways are the only correct options.
1)Are there any problems?
2)Are there any differences?
3)Are there any children?
4)Are there any animals?

And I'd suppose the following ones are incorrect:
5)Is there any problem?
6)Is there any difference?
7)Is there any child?
8)Is there any animal?

Am I right?

 

[Erebos12345]

You're right.

For 5) to 8), if you changed any to a/an, then it would be correct.

 

[JulianStuart]

To sum up this topic. It's a question of countability. If the noun is countable or uncountable.

It is often a surprise for English learners that many nouns can be used both either way in different contexts. Do not think that a particular noun is always countable or always uncountable.