Is /are there any

Is /are there any
Message from maralife posted on 31-07-2014 at 14:24:27 (D | E | F)
Hello,
I don't know when to use ARE THERE ANY and when to use IS THERE ANY.
I mean about COUNTABLE NOUNS. Are there any bookstores around here OR is there any bookstore around here?
Which one is the correct one?
Thank you for your help.

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Edited by lucile83 on 31-07-2014 16:21

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Re: Is /are there any from melmoth, posted on 31-07-2014 at 15:26:47 (D | E)
Hello Maralife,

Both are correct. If you say 'Is there any bookstore', you sound as if you don't expect there are many of them, and you'd be happy with just one.
If you say 'Are there any bookstores', you sound as if you expect there are several of them. That's my impression, at least.
Cheers.

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Re: Is /are there any from maralife, posted on 31-07-2014 at 20:06:05 (D | E)
Thanks, I thought only one of them was correct

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Re: Is /are there any from sherry48, posted on 01-08-2014 at 01:07:14 (D | E)
Hello.
General categories of nouns are typically plural, and we usually use plural nouns for questions with any.
Are there any bookstores around here?
Is there a bookstore around here?
Do you have any pets? Do you have a pet? Do you have any kind of pet?
Have you read any books this summer? Have you read a book this summer? (Have you read any book? sounds a little awkward).
Sherry

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Re: Is /are there any from clint01, posted on 01-08-2014 at 10:12:24 (D | E)
Hello Sherry48,
As far as I remember there was an album called 'The Wall' and it said: Is there any body out there? Of course it was ANYBODY not ANY BODY

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Re: Is /are there any from here4u, posted on 01-08-2014 at 10:59:15 (D | E)
Hello

Even in , if you expect to find one bookstore (or bookshop! ) you'd say :'Is there a bookshop around here ?'.

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Re: Is /are there any from melmoth, posted on 01-08-2014 at 14:56:38 (D | E)
Hello,
Yes, I agree that "are there any bookshops" and "is there a bookshop" are pretty natural, and in both sentences 'any' and 'a' are unstressed. If you want to use a stressed element to express that you wonder whether there's a bookshop at all, couldn't you say "is there any bookshop around here?", with 'any' stressed? I thought it was a possibility.
Cheers

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Edited by lucile83 on 01-08-2014 17:36

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Re: Is /are there any from sherry48, posted on 02-08-2014 at 20:42:37 (D | E)
Hello melmoth.
Yes, you could say it that way
Sherry

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