No vs. None
- No man is mortal.
- They have no food and will starve.
- We have got no plans for the summer.
Before a determiner (e.g. the, this, my) or a personal pronoun, we use none of.
- We invited several friends. But none of them came.
- None of the keys would open the door.
- None of my friends remembered my birthday.
When we use none of with a plural noun or pronoun, the verb can be singular or plural.
- None of them has come yet. (more formal)
- None of them have come yet. (more informal)
None can be used alone, without a noun, if the meaning is clear.
- Is there any beer in the house? No, there is none.
Note that we use neither of, not none of, to talk about two people or things.
- Neither of my parents lives with me. (NOT None of my parents —)
No/none and not a/any
No can be used instead of not a or not any when we want to emphasise a negative idea.
- Sorry, I can’t stop. I have got no time. (More emphatic than — I haven’t got any time.)
- He is no fool. (More emphatic than He is not a fool.)
None of can be used instead of not any of.
- She has done none of the work I told her to do. (More emphatic than She hasn’t done any of the work —)
After no, countable nouns are usually plural.
- He has got no children. (More natural than He has got no child.)
But note that we use a singular noun when the sense makes it necessary.
- He has got no wife. (NOT — no wives.)
