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No, Not A, Not Any

Neha Karve

Updated September 5, 2022

Summary

No is more emphatic than not any.

Example

• I haven’t any money.
  Indicating the absence of money.
  I have no money.
  Indicating absence again, but more emphatically.

No is also used more often than the contracted not any in formal contexts (such as academic texts).

Examples

• There aren’t any gaps in our neural representation of the world.
• More formal: There are no gaps in our neural representation of the world.

No is generally used instead of not any in the subject of a sentence.

Example

• No / Not any dragons were harmed in the making of this game.

A/an is generally used instead of any with singular countable nouns in negative statements.

Example

• I don’t have a/any pen.

No cannot simply replace not a in sentences. Not a is used to make a straightforward negative statement, while no indicates that something is quite different from what has been implied.

Example

• I am not an artist.
  Stating a fact.
  Well, he’s no expert.
  Quite other than an expert: emphasizing that he is not an expert at all.

No, any, and a as determiners

No, any, and a/an are determiners used before a noun to clarify its reference.

The adverb not is used with a and any in negative sentences. It is often contracted and combined with the main verb—for example, is not becomes isn’t.

A, any, and no can all be used in negative sentences, but they convey different points of view or degrees of emphasis. In this article, we discuss when to use which: no, not a, or not any.

Not a vs. not any

With singular countable nouns, a/an is generally used rather than any in negative statements.

It is not grammatically wrong to use any with singular countable nouns in negative statements. But note that when any is used in this way, the word is stressed and lends greater emphasis to the sentence.

In negative questions, a/an used with not implies a positive expectation. Affirmative questions with a/an (without not) are more open-ended.

In contrast, not any conveys negative expectation in negative questions. Affirmative questions with not any are again open-ended, but more forceful than those with not a.

No vs. not any

Both no and not any can be used in negative statements. Using no is more emphatic. No instead of the contracted not any is also used more often in formal contexts.

Here are some more examples of not any and no used in negative statements. Again, no is more forceful and formal than any used with the negated verb.

In the subject of a sentence, no is generally used instead of not any.

Note however that not any rather than no is used as the subject of a sentence to indicate that what is being referred to is special or important.

Both no and not any are used to confirm negative expectations in questions. No is more emphatic. It is also used more often in formal and literary contexts.

In questions, the not in not any contracts and combines with the verb in modern usage. No is more often used in formal contexts than the contracted not any. No is also more literary. Here are some more examples of not any and no used in questions. Note how no is more forceful and dramatic than not any.

Contracted not any vs. no

In the negated verb + any structure, not is generally contracted in questions.

In statements as well, not is generally contracted in the verb + any structure.

Since contractions are not considered appropriate in formal writing (such as business and academic documents), the contracted not any is often replaced with no.

Not a vs. no

No and not a mean different things. Not a is used to make a simple negative statement, while no is used to emphatically state that something is quite different from what has been assumed or implied.

Here are some more examples of not a used to state facts.

In contrast, no is used not simply to negate a statement, but also to indicate that reality is quite different from what may be assumed or implied. Thus, while not a presents a fact, no is used to contradict an assumption or implication.

When the indefinite article a/an is used instead of any with singular countable nouns in negative questions, it conveys a positive expectation. You cannot simply replace it with no, which conveys a negative expectation. Instead, use the stressed some to be emphatic.

Examples from literature

Here are some examples from literature that show how no, not any, and not a are used. Note how no is more emphatic and dramatic than not a and not any.

Also note how in that last example, not a cat or not any cat cannot simply replace no cat as the subject of the sentence.

Indefinite pronouns starting with any and no

Indefinite pronouns starting with any and no are used much the same way as the determiners any and no. No one or nobody and nothing are more emphatic than not anyone/anybody and not anything.

As the subject of a sentence, nothing is used instead of not anything.