Grammar – ‘A Way’ or ‘Any Way’: Which is Correct?

adverbial-phrasesdeterminersgrammar

What of these is correct? and if both are correct, what is there any difference or connotation in the meaning? or, are there different in terms of formality?

  • Is there a way you could send me the documents earlier?
  • Is there any way you could send me the documents earlier?

Also, wondering, do I need to use that before you could ?

Best Answer

  1. Both are valid and correct. The second might be slightly more natural.
  2. The second one might carry a slight emphasis on how desperate you are to get them (though the first one is already implying the same hurry). It's like a reduced version of "Is there any way, even if it's not easy or obvious, even if you already told me it's impossible, any way under heaven by miraculous or superhuman effort, that this could be done?"
  3. No, you don't have to include "that" before "you could," though it wouldn't be a problem if you did.
  4. Both are equal in formality. In terms of tone: both of these somewhat soften your request (compared to "Could you send me the documents earlier?"), but they're also a little bit "pushy." If you want to emphasize politeness rather than urgency, you could say something like "Might it be possible for you to send me them earlier?"
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