no
part of speech
determiner (no); adverb (no); exclamation (no); noun (a no, noes); abbreviation (No., no. — number)
meaning for a pupil
1) No means not any, or zero. «No apples» means zero apples. tree →
2) No is the answer when something is not true or you do not agree: «Is it raining? No.» tree →
3) No can mean that something is not allowed: «No running», «No entry». tree →
4) No can mean «not» with comparisons: «no more», «no bigger than». tree →
5) «No.» with a dot is short for number: «No. 5». tree →
6) (casual) «Nah», «nope», «no way», «no chance» are everyday ways to say no; «no worries» (Australia, NZ) means it's fine; «no biggie» means it doesn't matter. tree →
7) (rough) «No bloody way», «no chance, mate» and «hell no» are rough strong refusals. tree →
8) (formal) «Not any», «nil», «none whatsoever» and «in the negative» are stiff forms: «The answer is in the negative.» tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths: zero of something, or an answer to a yes/no question; «no more», «no longer», «none left». In everyday life and safety: signs and rules («No swimming», «No entry»); saying no to things that feel wrong or unsafe. In science: a yes/no answer to a test. In stories: «No way!», «Oh no!». In casual talk: «nah», «no worries», «no cap» (slang: no lie). In the exam voice: «nil», «no items whatsoever remain». Phrases: «no way», «no problem», «no thanks», «no one», «no doubt», «no matter».
examples
- She has no pencils left. tree →
- No students were late. tree →
- Is 15 an even number? No. tree →
- There are no more cookies. tree →
- No running by the pool! tree →
- It is OK to say no if a game feels unsafe. tree →
- The box was no bigger than a shoe. tree →
- The sign said «No dogs allowed». tree →
- nah, no sweets left, ate the lot (casual) tree →
- «Thanks for the lift.» «No worries, mate.» (casual, Australia) tree →
- Lend you 5 quid? No bloody way, you never paid me back. (rough) tree →
- Subsequent to the distribution, no items whatsoever remained; determine the original quantity. (formal exam) tree →
- "No, sir, by design," returned Aladdin. tree →
note
«No» can stand for the number 0. «No more» or «none left» means the amount is used up. Trap: a yes/no question needs a yes or no, not a number. Homophone: know (to have in your head). «No.» can also be short for number, as in «No. 5». «No worries» and «no problem» are friendly, not refusals. «No one» (two words) = nobody. Safety: you can always say no to a secret or a touch that makes you uncomfortable, and tell a trusted adult — even if the other person gets angry or rough.
In the corpora
- Job hunting means searching adverts and sending applications, often dozens before getting anywhere; many get no reply at all.
- Own-brand food is often made in a similar way to famous brands but costs less because there is no big advertising.
- Saving up is slower than borrowing but cheaper, because no interest is paid.
- Asking the other parent after one says no rarely ends well.
- When two stories contradict each other and there is no proof, the honest answer is «we don't know».
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «no» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.