Anyone vs. Any One How to Choose the Right Word

The indefinite pronoun anyone—used as a single word—refers to any person at all, but not to any particular individual. Any one—used as two words—is an adjective phrase that refers to any single member of a group of either people or things. Any one is commonly followed by the preposition of. A similar distinction applies to anybody vs. any body as well as nobody and no body. The omission or inclusion of the space between the two words makes a difference. Explanations, examples, and usage notes show when to use the terms and how to use them correctly. How to Use Anyone To use anyone correctly, its important to understand that an indefinite pronoun is a  pronoun  that refers to an unspecified or unidentified person or thing. Its vague rather than specific, and it doesnt have an  antecedent. So, anyone refers to any person, but no person in particular. Take the example: Did anyone of you see a lost boy? the frantic mother asked. In this example, a mother is searching for her child, who likely became lost or separated from her in a public place, such as a department store. She is not concerned who responds; she would be grateful if anyone at all, or anybody at all, could recall spotting the missing child. It does not matter who speaks up; anyone will do. How to Use Any One By contrast, any one refers to any single, specific person, such as: Any one of you in my class may choose any one of the books to read. In this example, the first use of any one refers to any single person in the class. In the second use, any one refers to any specific book. Examples Sample sentences can illustrate when to use anyone or any one. One such sentence might read: When I visited the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, I could not decide on any one painting that was my favorite. In this example, the speaker is stating that he is unable to pick any single painting in the world-famous museum that was his favorite. A sentence using anyone as a single word could ask: Does anyone of you have an opinion as to which painting in the Rijksmuseum is the best? After all, many experts say that Rembrandt van Rijns work Night Watch is the best painting at the museum. In this sentence, the speaker—perhaps a tour guide leading a large group—is asking if any person at all in the group (it does not matter who) has an opinion as to the best painting. Another example that uses both terms could read: It does not seem like anyone in the stadium saw the play. Did any one of you see it? In the first use, the speaker is commenting that it is unlikely that any person at all in the stadium (it does not matter who) saw the play. In other words, nobody saw it. In the second sentence of this example, the speaker is likely addressing a smaller group of people, perhaps in a press box or luxury box, and asking if any single person saw it. The implication, here, is that the speaker would like that specific individual to relate to him what happened on that particular play. By contrast, you could say: He never raised a hand to any one of his children. In this case, the father never hit or spanked any single, or individual, one of his children. How to Remember the Difference When trying to distinguish between anyone and any one, simply swap them with a similar word, such as anybody vs. anybody or even antonyms, such as nobody vs. no body. The difference between these words is the same grammatically as the distinction between anyone and any one. So, if you were to say: Does anyone know who first said, You cant trust anybody over 30? Both, anyone and anybody mean the same thing here—anyone and anybody both refer to any person in general, but not a specific person. If you swap them, the sentence still makes sense: Does anybody know who first said, You cant trust anyone over 30? By contrast, if you say: If any one of the 25 barons should die, the remaining barons shall choose a replacement. Clearly, in this sentence, any one refers to any specific, or particular, baron who might die. Replace any one with its antonym, such as no one, and you can still craft a sentence that makes sense: If no one of the barons dies this year, the remaining barons wont need to meet to choose a replacement. In this case, if no one, individual baron dies, the other barons wont have to select a replacement, but if any one of them dies (any single baron), all the other barons will have to meet to make that difficult choice. Sources Anyone vs. Any One. grammar.com.â€Å"Anyone or Any One – Whats the Difference?†Ã‚  Writing Explained, 7 Sept. 2017.Hacker, Diana, and Nancy I. Sommers.  A Pocket Style Manual. Bedford/St. Martins, Macmillan Learning, 2019.