Isn't "any of their" singular?

[SudhanshuK453]

Hi,

I read in MGMAT SC book that any subject preceded by 'any' is singular. Any of these women is suitable.

Now look at this question (sorry I could not comment there directly. ): https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... -t485.html

Isn't option b out because predecessors is plural and 'any of theirs' is singular? Shouldn't it be 'olden than their supposed' instead?

[Chelsey Cooley]

Sorry, but the GMAC no longer lets us directly address Official Guide questions. The ones discussed on these forums before mid-2007 have been archived so you can read them, but we can't comment further on them.

To answer your general question, 'any' is one of the so-called 'SANAM' pronouns. These pronouns (some, any, none, all, more/most) can be either singular or plural, regardless of whether they're followed by a subject. I checked the 5th edition Sentence Correction guide, and it (correctly) states that 'any of ____' can be singular - it doesn't mention this explicitly, but it doesn't have to be singular.