English Language & Usage Asked by William Oliver on January 4, 2021
For a collection of objects x and predicate y, you can say "all of x are y". For example, "It is probably summer if all of the Tree’s leaves are green". But you can also say "x are all y", for example "It is probably summer if the tree’s leaves are all green." The latter is what I mean by "infix".
Similarly, for a collection of objects x and predicate y, you can say "any of x are y". For example, you can say "It probably isn’t winter if any of the tree’s leaves are green".
However I can’t think of a similar infix version of this second phrase. That is, I can’t think of anything like "x are any y" that sounds right or makes sense, e.g. "It probably isn’t winter if the tree’s leaves are any green" sounds like nonsense.
Is there an infix version of this phrase in the english language?
I'd have commented, rather than answered, but I don't have that privilege. So, a suggestion:
If you accept "…if the tree's leaves are all green" for "x are all y", then you could say ‘...if the tree's leaves are at all green'.
Of course, this might pertain to how many of the leaves are green, but also to the extent to which the leaves are green (more or less), and 'at all' doesn't quite mean 'any'...
Answered by TwoBob on January 4, 2021
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