anylonger

[banderas]

Despite what the dictionaries say, the second sentence does sound a bit weird to me with "any more", Banderas. Here I would definitely be inclined to put "any longer" rather than any more: "I can't wait any longer."

So far, I haven't found anything in the grammar books that would substantiate a theory in favour of a distinction but I'll keep on searching.
What about you?

Hi Naomilan, thanks you post.

I think, in general we can use either but we shoild bear in mind that there are some verbs that imply an ongoing process like "wait", "look for" etc. and I would be inclined to say:
I can not wait any longer.
I can not look for it any longer.

It all depends on the context so please consider such a situation:
1. I was waiting for someone who was late and I said to myself: " No, I can not wait any longer (not any more), I've got to go". The process of waiting and your time is important here and how long you wait.

2. I was waiting for someone who was late and I decided not to wait any longer (not any more). Next day this person calls me saying: I am sorry, can we arrange another meeting, please?" And I say: "I am afraid not, I don't believe you would come this time. I do not want to wait for you any more." I I said yes, this would mean that I would take risk to wait for the person once more. In fact I can not wait any more because I hate waiting for people. I hate when someone is late!

Does it make sense to English native speakers? I believe it may do, please let me know.
Regards
Banderas

[naomimalan]

Hi Naomilan, thanks you post.

I think, in general we can use either but we shoild bear in mind that there are some verbs that imply an ongoing process like "wait", "look for" etc. and I would be inclined to say:
I can not wait any longer.
I can not look for it any longer.

It all depends on the context so please consider such a situation:
1. I was waiting for someone who was late and I said to myself: " No, I can not wait any longer (not any more), I've got to go". The process of waiting and your time is important here and how long you wait.

2. I was waiting for someone who was late and I decided not to wait any longer (not any more). Next day this person calls me saying: I am sorry, can we arrange another meeting, please?" And I say: "I am afraid not, I don't believe you would come this time. I do not want to wait for you any more." I I said yes, this would mean that I would take risk to wait for the person once more. In fact I can not wait any more because I hate waiting for people. I hate when someone is late!

Does it make sense to English native speakers? I believe it may do, please let me know.
Regards
Banderas

I think your analysis is 100%correct, Banderas. The choice of “any longer” to the exclusion of “any more” implies as you suggest, an ongoing process with verbs like “look for” and “wait”; also, as you suggest, the notion of time is relevant.
I had been racking my brains trying to find a context where “any longer” wouldn’t work but I couldn’t come up with anything. But I see you’ve found it with your example 2 about the person who calls you to apologise for not turning up and wants to arrange another meeting, which you refuse. Here your choice of any more (“I don’t want to wait for you any more”) seems to me the only possible choice.
To get back to the type of verb compatible with “any longer” to the exclusion of “any more”, I think a lot of verbs would be compatible as long as in context they imply an “ongoing process”. Imagine, for example, I’m trying to put a screw in a wall so as to hang a picture and the screw keeps falling out. After a while, I could say, “I’m not going to carry on trying to put in this screw any longer. It’s a waste of time.” And so on…
It remains to be seen whether with “any more” to the exclusion of “any longer” we can find contexts for other verbs apart from “look for” and “wait”. I’m sure it’s possible. What about you?

[banderas]

I think your analysis is 100%correct, Banderas. The choice of “any longer” to the exclusion of “any more” implies as you suggest, an ongoing process with verbs like “look for” and “wait”; also, as you suggest, the notion of time is relevant.
I had been racking my brains trying to find a context where “any longer” wouldn’t work but I couldn’t come up with anything. But I see you’ve found it with your example 2 about the person who calls you to apologise for not turning up and wants to arrange another meeting, which you refuse. Here your choice of any more (“I don’t want to wait for you any more”) seems to me the only possible choice.
It remains to be seen whether with “any more” to the exclusion of “any longer” we can find contexts for other verbs apart from “look for” and “wait”. I’m sure it’s possible. What about you?

Hi Naomimalan,
What I thought is that dictionaries are not always reliable. If they say "any longer"="any more", it is weird to me. These two structures exist not for nothing so there must be a slight difference in use. I do not remember if it was RonBee or BobK (perhaps both of them) who said that we do need the context in order to figure out a meaning of English words. Anglika also asks for context when answering some posts. In general, I agree that "any longer" and "any more" are interchangable.

[naomimalan]

Hi Naomimalan,
What I thought is that dictionaries are not always reliable. If they say "any longer"="any more", it is weird to me. These two structures exist not for nothing so there must be a slight difference in use. I do not remember if it was RonBee or BobK (perhaps both of them) who said that we do need the context in order to figure out a meaning of English words. Anglika also asks for context when answering some posts. In general, I agree that "any longer" and "any more" are interchangable.

“What I thought is that dictionaries are not always reliable. If they say "any longer"="any more", it is weird to me.
I once heard that lexicologists have an extremely limited amount of time to define a word and find examples. Maybe that explains why their definitions are not always reliable. But I think it could also be that certain structures haven’t yet been researched – or else have been researched but incorrectly.
“ I do not remember if it was RonBee or BobK (perhaps both of them) who said that we do need the context in order to figure out a meaning of English words. Anglika also asks for context when answering some posts.”
Yes, context can be very important. Your para 2 higher up (about not waiting for a friend) illustrates this.
“. These two structures exist not for nothing so there must be a slight difference in use….. In general, I agree that "any longer" and "any more" are interchangable.”
I think what we said higher up does prove that for the most part these structures are interchangeable but not systematically.