any mistake / any mistakes

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hello,

As you know [mistake] is a countable noun. Then, it would be correct to say [any mistakes] rather than [any mistake].

But I saw in some forums where [any mistake] in some contexts can be correct. But do you agree with this?

When is it correct to use [any mistake]? I myself don’t believe in this.

Look at these sentences:

  1. I couldn’t find any mistakes in my sentence.
  2. I couldn’t find any mistake in my sentence.
  3. Is there any mistake?
  4. Are there any mistakes?

See … these are confusing. Which is correct and which is not? Would you please be kind enough to give me some guidance on this?

Thank you.

2

Just like ‘some’, ‘any’ can refer to a singular or plural noun. They are all correct.

3

Thanks for answering but why can’t we use a singular after the word “any” in the second example?

Are there any books on the table? => correct
Is there any book on the table? =? incorrect

I thought we can’t use a countable noun with “any”.

4

In some contexts, 'Is there any book on the table? is correct.

When any means ‘of any kind’, it is quite natural to use any with singular uncountable nouns, especially if you wish to add emphasis that you’re asking about any kind, not a specific kind.
More here:
bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learn … v303.shtml