anyone or any one. The one-word form anyone means “any person.” The two-word form any one means “whatever one (person or thing) of a group.” Thus, Anyone may join means that admission is open to everybody. Any one may join means that admission is open to one person only. When followed by of, only any one can be used: Any one (not anyone) of the boys could carry it by himself.
2
anyone instead of everyone.Anyone is often used in place of everyone in sentences like She is the most thrifty person of anyone I know. While this construction has been used for centuries, 64 percent of the Usage Panel in an earlier survey found this sentence unacceptable in writing.
3
anyone with he.Anyone worth his salt would have done a better job. Is it all right to use masculine pronouns to refer back to an any- construction? For an answer to this question, see
he under Gender.
4
anyone with plural pronouns.Anyone who wants to go must bring their canteens. Can anyone be referred to by a plural pronoun? For a discussion of this issue, see
every.
