23 No vs Not
Determiners
No and Not are both used to convey a negative meaning for clauses, words and expressions.
No and Not have the same purpose but they are slightly different in meaning and position in the sentence. Some differences are listed below:
No
- No + noun (without article). It is used to emphasize the negativity.
Not
- Not + adverb;
- Not + verb;
- Not + adjective;
- Not + any/much/many/enough.
No
Nouns:
- Could you please give me some hydrogen peroxide? No way, it is dangerous for children.
- There are no patients in the hospital.
Not
Nouns with article:
- I’m a dentist, not a psychologist.
- That’s not a surprise for me.
Verb:
- He is not going to the opthalmologist.
- She does not feel good.
Adjectives:
- The meaning is not clear.
- He is not lazy.
Any/Much/Many/Enough:
- There are not any antibiotics in the drawer.
- There isn’t much time left.
- Not many people can afford private health service.
- There is not enough alcohol for everyone.
No/Not
Nouns:
- There is no excuse for what he did.(without article)
- He is not the center of the world. (without article)
- He hasn’t got a prescription. (with article)
No vs Not
Emphasis:
- There is no thermometer in the bathroom. (more emphasis)
- There isn’t a thermometer in the bathroom.
- You have got no emails. (more emphasis)
- You haven’t got any emails.
- There is no milk in the fridge. (more emphasis)
- There is not any milk in the fridge.
There is not a big difference in meaning between No and Not. Apart from the differences stated in the FORM section, No is used in yes/no questions.
No and Not are both used to obtain the negative meaning of clauses, words and expressions. However, they are both different in meaning and in their position within a sentence. No is used with nouns (but without an article), whereas Not is used with adverbs, verbs, adjectives and with any, much, many and enough. No tends to place more emphasis within and sentence and Not can be used with nouns too (but it is used with an article).
For example:
— “There is no cake left.” = No can be used with nouns but without an article.
— “There is not anyone in the office.” = Not can be used with adjectives.
Let’s revise this content within the [Form] section. Take a look at the [Example] section that shows its use within a context.