Unit 76: not + any / no / none / no-one
Master negative expressions with countable & uncountable nouns
A. not (n't) + any
Use not + any + noun in negative sentences:
not (n't) + any + noun
• There aren't any cars in the car park.
• Sally and Steve haven't got any children.
• You can have some coffee but I don't want any.
• There aren't any cars in the car park.
• Sally and Steve haven't got any children.
• You can have some coffee but I don't want any.
no + noun (no cars / no garden etc.)
no ... = not + any or not + a
• There are no cars in the car park. (= there aren't any cars)
• We've got no coffee. (= we haven't got any coffee)
• It's a nice house but there's no garden. (= there isn't a garden)
• There are no cars in the car park. (= there aren't any cars)
• We've got no coffee. (= we haven't got any coffee)
• It's a nice house but there's no garden. (= there isn't a garden)
We use no ... especially after have (got) and there is/are.
negative verb + any = positive verb + no:
• They haven't got any children. or They've got no children.
(not 'They haven't got no children')
• There isn't any sugar in your coffee. or There's no sugar in your coffee.
(not 'They haven't got no children')
• There isn't any sugar in your coffee. or There's no sugar in your coffee.
B. no and none
Use no + noun (no money / no children etc.):
• We've got no money.
• Everything was OK. There were no problems.
• Everything was OK. There were no problems.
Use none alone (without a noun):
• 'How much money have you got?' 'None.' (= no money)
• 'Were there any problems?' 'No, none.' (= no problems)
• 'Were there any problems?' 'No, none.' (= no problems)
C. none and no-one
none = 0 (zero)
None is an answer for How much? / How many? (things or people):
• 'How much money have you got?' 'None.' (= no money)
• 'How many people did you meet?' 'None.' (= no people)
• 'How many people did you meet?' 'None.' (= no people)
no-one = nobody (→ Unit 77)
No-one is an answer for Who?:
• 'Who did you meet?' 'No-one.' (or Nobody.)
The car park is empty. There aren't any cars.
not + any vs no
There aren't any cars in the car park. → There are no cars in the car park.
We haven't got any money. → We've got no money.
We haven't got any money. → We've got no money.
I don't want any coffee. → I want no coffee. (less common)
no + noun (positive verb)
The car park is empty. → There are no cars in the car park.
How many cars are there in the car park? → None.
How many cars are there in the car park? → None.
none (without noun)
'How much money have you got?' → 'None.'
'How many children have they got?' → 'None.'
'How many children have they got?' → 'None.'
no-one / nobody
'Who did you speak to?' → 'No-one.' or 'Nobody.'
No-one saw the accident. = Nobody saw the accident.
No-one saw the accident. = Nobody saw the accident.
76.1 Write these sentences again with no.
- We haven't got any money.
- There aren't any shops near here.
- Carol hasn't got any free time.
- There isn't a light in this room.
76.2 Put in no or any.
- There's sugar in your coffee.
- My brother is married but he hasn't got children.
- Sue doesn't speak foreign languages.
- I'm afraid there's coffee. Would you like some tea?
- Look at those birds!' 'Birds? Where? I can't see birds.'
- 'Do you know where Jane is?' 'No, I've got idea.'
76.3 Complete the sentences. Use any or no + one of these words:
difference film friends furniture heating money photographs problems questions
- Everything was OK. There were .
- They want to go on holiday but they've got .
- I'm not going to answer .
- He's always alone. He's got .
- There is in the house. It's always cold.
- The house is empty. There isn't .
- I can't take . There's in the camera.
76.4 Write short answers (one or two words) to these questions. Use none where necessary.
- How many letters did you write yesterday?
- How many sisters have you got?
- How much coffee did you drink yesterday?
- How many photographs have you taken today?
- How many legs has a snake got?