If there is/are any

Are both of the following sentences correct?

If there are (any) cars parked in the road, they will be towed away.

If there is any car parked in the road, it will be towed away.

I know we generally use the first sentence in these circumstances. But is there any situation where I can use the second sentence? I have seen people use the second sentence too but not so often.

One more question, if I omit 'any' in the first sentence (If there are cars parked in the road, they will be towed away), will that be correct too?

Solution 1:

You absolutely can use the second sentence in any situation in which the first one is used. There is no real difference in correctness or meaning, as far as I can tell. It seems to simply be a matter of learned patterns that causes the first one to be more popular.

Also, the first sentence should be just as correct without the use of the word any.