Is, their ?

[whl626]

" Is anybody interested in joining toastmaster for improving their English? "

I wonder if " is " and " their " are contradictory in the sentence. They don't seem to be in agreement, right ?

 

[RonBee]

Some would say that using their in that sentence is incorrect. Others would say that it avoids the sexist his or the relatively awkward his or hers.

 

[whl626]

Sometimes I don't understand why ' any ' can be plural while anybody is singular.

eg Are there any questions ?

eg. Is there anybody interested in .... ? How about " are " to be used ?

 

[RonBee]

Sometimes I don't understand why ' any ' can be plural while anybody is singular.

eg Are there any questions ?

eg. Is there anybody interested in .... ? How about " are " to be used ?

Well, any is an adjective, while anybody is a pronoun.

Are there any questions? is the same as Are there some questions? or Does anybody want to ask some questions? In both cases, questions is the plural, not any.

It is true that any is always used with a plural noun.