I noticed on my host’s site that someone wanted info on the word “anymore.” My guess is he or she wanted to know when to use it as one word and when to use two words.
As one word it means either from now on or any longer. For example, “Please don’t pick your nose anymore.” Or, “They don’t make movies like Casablanca anymore.”
The meaning changes somewhat as two words. This gets a little tricky. “Any” when used with “more” is an adverb, not an adjective, which is what we expect. It describes more and means to what extent. “More” means additional. So, the sentence, “Does anyone want any more chili?” needs two words because “any” and “more” together describe the chili, and the question asks whether anyone wants additional chili. OK?
Let me confuse you. Let’s take the same sentence and move things around. “Does anyone want chili anymore?” Oh, look, we moved it, and now it asks whether anyone wants chili from now on or any longer–one word.
Mighty tricky language, English. Treacherous, even.
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