Can we say "There should be any problem for Adam to eat that apple"?

Question

There should be any problem for Adam to eat that apple.

Is this a proper sentence?

The use of any here seems to be an issue. For example it seems fine in sentences like:

.. and perhaps also in the following sentences too:

Can you explain to us what makes you think it might or might not be a proper sentence? — John Clifford, Mar 13 '16 at 23:06
Please read the rules for asking questions. You are not allowed to ask questions like "is this a proper sentence yes or no." You have to clearly specify what part of the sentence you're concerned about. — herisson, Mar 13 '16 at 23:08
You are also expected to show research here. If your question is about how to use the word "any," you should read these already-existing questions to learn background information: Can I say “I'm glad I was of any help”?, Does it sound weird to say “ I hope I can be of any use (help) to you” in a cover letter?, Explain something: anything — herisson, Mar 13 '16 at 23:11
Possible duplicate of Can I say "I'm glad I was of any help"? — Edwin Ashworth, Mar 13 '16 at 23:33

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38

2

No, it's not a proper sentence.

Any in this sense is a negative polarity item, and therefore can't appear outside a negative context.

Thus, while

is OK, because shouldn't is negative,

is ungrammatical because should isn't negative.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38

Community

answered Mar 13 '16 at 23:14

John Lawler

2

+1 Just to be mischevious, Should there be any problem, please ... is fine though. – Araucaria - Him Mar 14 '16 at 14:07
1

@sumelic If you're able to read the reopen information you'll see that I haven't cast any reopen votes on this question. I just made it easier on the eye and related it to JL's answer, so that it would make sense for any readers. I don't know where you got your reopen guff from. If you want to go round leaving advisories for people, why not read the info first. Incidentally your comment is doubly weird because this question does not link to any other questions on polarity items or any others of any description at all and so is a waste of time and a dead end for readers-apart from JL's answer. – Araucaria - Him Mar 14 '16 at 21:28

1 Answers1