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English Articles

How to use ‘no’ and ‘none’ in English?

By: Isabel McKay Thu Sep 12 2024
English
Grammar Tips, Determiners, Adjectives, Pronouns

The words no and none both tell you that the amount of something is zero. In general, the difference is simple: use no before a and use none to replace a noun (as a )

noun

I saw no birds. → I saw none.

But there is more to learn if you want to use these words correctly! In this post, we will first look at the difference between no and none, then we’ll look individually at all of the uses of each of these words in English.

That may sound like a lot, but there is no reason you can’t figure these two words out. None of the rules are too hard!

What is the difference between ‘no’ and ‘none’?

The words no and none have the same meaning (a zero amount) but different grammar. Here’s a chart that shows their basic grammar points:

Word
Before a
Before of
To replace a noun

no

He received no money.

❌

❌

none

❌

He received none of the money.

He received none.

As you can see:

Grammar watch!

The words no and none are negative words! This means that, like other English negative words, they cannot be used after not or other ! This is because of the “no double negatives” grammar rule. Instead, we use the positive word any:

  • ❌ I don’t see no books on the table.
    ✅ I don’t see any books on the table.

  • ❌ She has never brought none of her toys to school.
    ✅ She has never brought any of her toys to school.

Have a look at our post on any and some to learn more about using the word any, and to learn about why we use any here instead of some!

⤷TIP
Some English speakers do use double negatives, so you might hear I don’t see no books on the table. However, in most dialects this is considered an error, especially in writing. English learners should practice using a positive verb.

But, there’s more to learn! Let’s look at all the uses of these two words in detail to get a better understanding of the grammar, and what they mean when you use them.

How to use ‘no’ in English?

There are three main ways to use the word no in English, but in this post, we’ll focus just on the third use:

  • As a negative answer to a basic yes / no question:

    Speaker A:

    Are you a teacher?

    Speaker B:

    No. / No, I’m not.

  • Before an English comparative adjective, to mean not:

    • Patrick is no taller than Susan.

      → Patrick is not taller than Susan.

    • Susan is no more intelligent than Patrick.

      → Patrick is not more intelligent than Susan.

  • Before a noun, to say that the amount is zero → THIS is the topic of the current post!

    • There are no books on the table.

      → Zero books are on the table.

    • No milk is in the glass.

      → Zero milk is in the class.

Let’s look a little more closely at all the different ways you can use no + noun!

How to use ‘no’ + noun in English?

Here are some rules to remember about using no before a noun:

  • Use no before a or a :

    • mass noun

      There is no mayonnaise left in the jar.

    • count noun

      There are no books left on the table.

    Make sure your with the noun!

    Exception!

    There are a few cases where you can use no before a singular count noun:

    • To mean not one of all (a little poetic):

      No book tells that story better.

      → Not one of all books tells that story better.

    • When you only expected only one (this is a little casual):

      Speaker A:

      Did you find my purse?

      Speaker B:

      No, they said that there is no green bag in the lost-and-found.

    • In certain set phrases:

      I have no clue what’s going on.

      → Most of these phrases express that you have zero knowledge or thoughts: no idea, no clue, no sign, etc.

    • As a way to say is not + noun (often found in quotes or idioms):

      • I am no man!

        = I am not a man!

        → This is a famous line from the book and film “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."

      • No problem!

        = That is not a problem!

        → English speakers often use this instead of you're welcome.

  • Like other quantifying adjectives in English, we put no before other ...

    There are no big shiny stickers on my paper.

    … and we do not use them with a noun that has a determiner:

    • ❌ No my toys are in the bin.

    • ❌ I spilled no this milk.

    If you need to use a determiner, use none of instead:

    • ✅ None of my toys are in the bin.

    • ✅ I spilled none of this milk.

Word watch!

The word no is used to create several other negative :

  • no one(no person)

  • nobody(no person)

  • nothing(no thing)

  • nowhere(no place)

You can also use these words whenever you would use no + noun. They are always used with singular verbs.

Can you use ‘no’ + noun in a question?

You can use no + noun in a question, but it is unusual because it asks someone to confirm something you already know: that the quantity is zero.

Are there no pencils in this drawer at all?

→ I already looked and saw zero pencils. I am surprised. Could it really be true?

To ask about whether something exists in a more neutral way, you will want to leave out the word no or use the word any instead.

Are there any pencils in this drawer?

→ I did not look, so I am asking you.

To learn more about how to use the word any in questions, check out our post on some and any in English!

English signs with ‘no’ + noun

When a sign says no + noun, it means that noun is not allowed. For example:

  • No dogs

    Dogs are not allowed here.

  • No cell phones

    Cell phones are not allowed here.

Often you will see signs that say no + gerund (verb + -ing). This means that you are not allowed to do that action. Here are some common signs like this in the USA, we’ll start with easy ones and get more difficult!

  • No parking

    You are not allowed to park a car here.

  • No smoking

    You are not allowed to smoke here.

  • No swimming

    You are not allowed to swim here.

  • No diving

    You are not allowed to dive into the pool here.

  • No standing

    You are not allowed to stop driving here.

  • No trespassing

    You are not allowed to go here (because it is private land).

  • No soliciting

    You are not allowed to ask people to buy things here.

  • No loitering

    You are not allowed to stand or sit on the sidewalk here.

Tip

The words loitering, tresspassing, and soliciting are all legal words, which are uncommon in everyday speech, but you should still recognize them on a sign!

However, sometimes no + noun on a sign has the same meaning it has in other contexts:

  • No exit

    There is no exit here.

  • No lifeguard on duty

    There is no lifeguard here.

How to use ‘none’ in English?

There are two main ways to use the word none in English:

  • Use none instead of no + noun

    • There are no books. → There are none.

    • There is no whole milk. → There is none.

    Notice the verb! None can be singular or plural, depending on what it replaces!

  • Use none + of + noun, to mean: no noun from a set, mass, collection, or group

    • My dog ate no food from her dinner. → My dog ate none of her dinner.

    • No children from my children like broccoli. → None of my children like broccoli.

    The noun that comes after none of needs to describe a specific group, collection, mass, or set. This means that it will almost always start with a definite article (the), a possessive adjective (my, your, his, their...), or a demonstrative adjective (this, those...). These are all called definite determiners.

    none of

    definite determiner

    noun phrase

    None of these books is a history book.

    I ate none of the oatmeal in my bowl .

    If you already talked about the group, collection, mass, or set, you can use a pronoun instead.

    none of

    (object) pronoun

    These cakes? I baked none of them.

    This oatmeal? I ate none of it.

    I did eat some of my cookies, but I ate none of yours.

Remember that because we use none like we use no + noun, similar rules apply:

  • Do not use none in a sentence with a negative verb.

  • Using none in a question shows surprise.

Word watch!

Do not use none if you are expecting exactly two specific nouns! Look at this:

  • Three boys signed up for the class. None (of the boys) came on time.

  • Two boys signed up for the class. Neither (of the boys) came on time.

When you are talking about two specific things, ideas, people, etc., you’ll use the word neither instead. Read up about the word neither in our post on using both, either, and neither in English!

Digging into the past...

The word none comes from ne(not) + an(one) in Middle English. So, none actually means not one. That’s why it can be used as a pronoun! It includes the meaning of the pronoun one.

In both of the main uses of none, none replaces a noun, so we therefore say that none is a pronoun. Specifically, it is an indefinite pronoun.

Summing up

The words no and none are really useful. In this post you've seen that:

  • Both no and none can mean zero.

    • We use no before a noun (There is no candy left.)

    • We use none to replace no + noun:

      • by itself (There are none left.)

      • with of + group, collection, mass, set (None of the candy is left.)

  • It is best to use no and none in sentences with positive verbs, and avoid using them in questions.

  • No + noun on a sign means that something is not allowed.

The best way to get these words into your everyday English is to practice them. Why not check out these activities on the words no and none? You’ll find they’re easy once you’ve repeated them a bit.

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