086 : (no/none/any) , (nothing/nobody) etc.

   A   

No and none

 

We use no + noun.  No = not a or not any:

• We had to walk home because there was no bus. (= there wasn't a bus)
• Sue will have no trouble finding a job. (= Sue won't have any trouble ... )
• There were no shops open. (= There weren't any shops open.)

 

You can use no + noun at the beginning of a sentence:

• No reason was given for the change of plan.

 

We use none without a noun:

• 'How much money do you have?'  'None.' (= no money)
• All the tickets have been sold. There are none left. (= no tickets left)

 

Or we use none of ... :

• This money is all yours. None of it is mine.

 

Compare none and any:

• 'How much luggage do you have?'  'None.' / 'I don't have any.'

 

After none of + plural (none of the students, none of them etc.) the verb can be singular or plural.
A plural verb is more usual:

• None of the shops were (or was) open.

 

 

   B   

Nothing      nobody/no-one      nowhere

 

You can use these words at the beginning of a sentence or alone (as answers to questions):

• 'What's going to happen?'  'Nobody (or No-one) knows.'
• 'What happened?'  'Nothing.'
• 'Where are you going?'  'Nowhere. I'm staying here.'

 

You can also use these words after a verb, especially after be and have:

• The house is empty. There's nobody living there.
• We had nothing to eat.

 

Nothing/nobody etc. = not + anything/anybody etc. :

• I said nothing. = I didn't say anything.
• Jane told nobody about her plans. = Jane didn't tell anybody about her plans.
• They have nowhere to live. = They don't have anywhere to live.

 

With nothing/nobody etc., do not use a negative verb (isn't, didn't etc.):

• I said nothing. (not I didn't say nothing)

 

 

   C   

After nobody/no-one you can use they/them/their (see also Unit 85E):

• Nobody is perfect, are they? (= is he or she perfect)
• No-one did what I asked them to do. (= him or her)
• Nobody in the class did their homework. (= his or her homework)

 

 

   D   

Sometimes any/anything/anybody etc. means 'it doesn't matter which/what/who' (see Unit 85D).
Compare no- and any-:

• There was no bus, so we walked home.
  You can take any bus. They all go to the centre. (= it doesn't matter which)
• 'What do you want to eat?' 'Nothing. I'm not hungry.'
  I'm so hungry. I could eat anything. (= it doesn't matter what)
• The exam was extremely difficult. Nobody passed. (= everybody failed)
  The exam was very easy. Anybody could have passed. (= it doesn't matter who)