Do any of you know this?

We say "do any of you know this?" But "any" seems like "anyone" so what is the difference? Why we say "does anyone know it" and "do any of you know it?" Why do we do this. I am confused what is the difference between these two?

Please help.

tufguy said:

We say "Do any of you know this?" But "any" seems like "anyone" so what is the difference? Why do we say "Does anyone know it?" and "Do any of you know it?" Why do we do this? I am confused [STRIKE]what is[/STRIKE] about the difference between these two.

Please help.

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If you're standing in front of a group of people and you want to know if any of those people know "this" (whatever "this" is), you can use either.

Teacher, to a class of 20 students: What's the simple past of "stand"?
(Silence from the students.)
Teacher: Come on! Does anyone know the answer?
Student (Paul): Is it "standed"?
Teacher: No, that's wrong. Do any of you know the correct answer?
Student (Maria): I think it's "stood".
Teacher: Well done, Maria. That's right.

As you can see, the teacher used both "Does anyone know ...?" and "Do any of you know ...?" They're both correct in this scenario.

"Any of you" means "any of the people I'm addressing".

emsr2d2 said:

"Any of you" means "any of the people I'm addressing".

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I'd say that "Does anyone know...?" also means the same in almost all cases.

Teacher: Does anyone know what this Chinese character represents?
Billy: I guess over a billion Chinese would.

"Do any of these things cost below $100?" Is it correct?

tufguy said:

"Do any of these things cost below $100?" Is it correct?

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Actually, whether you realize it or not, you have landed on the difference between "any of" and "anyone".

"Any of" is appropriate for multiple answers, or multiple things meeting your criteria (costs less than $100).

"Any one" is only asking for one instance. There may be more, but one is all we are interested in. Note that you only join these two into one word ("anyone") when referring to a person.

tufguy said:

"Do any of these things cost below $100?" Is it correct?

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You should say less than $100. You can ask whether a price is below $100.

ChinaDan said:

Actually, whether you realize it or not, you have landed on the difference between "any of" and "anyone".

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Yes, but the distinction to be made was between "any of you" and "anyone". You seem to be giving the difference between "any one of" and "any of".
"Do any of these cost less than $100?"
"Does any one of these cost less than $100?"

Raymott said:

Yes, but the distinction to be made was between "any of you" and "anyone".

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By this point, the OP had introduced a new question. Post #4.

You seem to be giving the difference between "any one of" and "any of".

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The distinction holds for the OP. "Any of you" invites multiple responses. "Anyone" seeks one.

Though I suppose common usage pays no heed to such detail, as is so often true in such discussions.