Anyone and Any One

What is the difference between anyone and any one?

Anyone is similar in meaning to anybody. (Anyone can usually be replaced with anybody.) For example: Any one is similar in meaning to any. (Any one can often be replaced with any.) For example:

Anyone and Any One

There is often confusion over anyone and any one. (Note: There is no hyphen in any one.)

Anyone

Anyone (one word) is similar to anybody. (Anyone is an indefinite pronoun.)

Try substituting the anyone in these examples with anybody:

Any One

In the term any one, the word one will usually represent a nearby noun. For example: In the examples above, the word any is an indefinite adjective which modifies the indefinite pronoun one.

In the examples below, the expression any one is not an indefinite adjective and an indefinite pronoun like in the examples above. It is an indefinite adjective and the number one. For example:

A Quick Test

You Can Test If Anyone Is Correct

You should be using anyone, if you can replace it with anybody.

You Can Test If Any One Is Correct

You should be using any one, if you can:

One Is an Indefinite Pronoun

The word one in any one is an indefinite pronoun. This means it will be representing a nearby noun. For example: Read more about indefinite pronouns.


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See Also

What are indefinite pronouns? Every body or everybody? Every day or everyday? Glossary of grammatical terms