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Can you tell me which sentence is correct:

1) I'd appreciate any comment of (from) you.

2) I'd appreciate any comments of (from) you.

First, I think "any comments" is correct but I also read a sentence: "Ask any doctor, They'll tell you that smoking is not good for your health". So I got confused. Please help me distinguish two sentences.

Second, I was wondering whether I should use "of" or "from" (any comment(s) from you or any comment(s) of you). I found out that "of" means possess. So Is it possible to use "of"?

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First off, the correct preposition is "from." There seem to be few rules that determine which prepositions are correct, or, if there are rules, they are riddled with exceptions. The closest I can come to a justification is that the context implies a conversation, with comments coming from multiple "directions," where "directions" is a buried metaphor meaning different individuals. We commonly use "from" and "to" with directions.

Second, the plural "comments" seems far more natural than "comment" though both are grammatical. The reason is that what is usually contemplated is that more than one comment is expected and permitted. That is what distinguishes the example of "any comments" from "any doctor," where it is not contemplated that someone is going to sample the views of multiple doctors. In other words, what determines whether to use the singular or plural is not grammar, but rather intended meaning.

Finally, both sentences strike me as somewhat awkward, but this may be a purely personal reaction. I very much doubt that the speaker will appreciate any comment whatsoever. For example, the comment "You are a blithering idiot" will seldom be appreciated by the person soliciting comments.

Here is what is probably intended

I would appreciate your comments if you have any that are worthwhile and polite

which would usually get shortened to

I'd appreciate your comments

with the conditional implied by the use of the contraction of "would."

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  • Another possibility is I would appreciate any comments made by you, with by being the preposition.
    – Jason Bassford
    Commented Aug 24, 2019 at 14:31
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    Yes, this is certainly a grammatical possibility although it seems to me to change the meaning a bit by seeming to restrict the desire for comments to a select group.
    – Jeff Morrow
    Commented Aug 24, 2019 at 14:47
  • Oh, thank you for your answer. It's a great explanation that makes me understand my question.
    – lng
    Commented Aug 24, 2019 at 15:18
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    @Jason Language is not Aristotelian logic. 'Your comments" technically refers exclusively to the audience addressed. "The comments made by you" does as well. But in the first case, the meaning is "comments from anyone." In the second, there is at least an implication that what is meant is "comments from any of you addressed." Shades of meaning are implied by different choices of word and phrasing. Substituting "made by you" for "yours" places more emphasis on who is commenting. Literalism ignores the richness of language.
    – Jeff Morrow
    Commented Aug 24, 2019 at 20:09
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    @Jason I shall let you have the last word if you want it. "I'd appeciate your comments" is somewhat phatic language. It is welcoming comments from anyone who happens to be in the audience and is not focusing on defining a set. The "comments made by you" may stress that he is welcoming such comments because of who is in the audience. If you do not see language as capable of conveying such nuances but as an exercise in Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory, you and I simply have nothing to say to each other about how language is used.
    – Jeff Morrow
    Commented Aug 24, 2019 at 21:51

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