English Grammar in Use With Answers » Unit 86: No/none/any Nothing/nobody ect.

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.

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)

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)

Sometimes any/anything/anybody etc. means 'it doesn't matter which/what/who' (see Unit 850).
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)

86.1 Complete these sentences with no, none or any.

  1. It was a public holiday, so there were shops open.
  2. I haven't got money. Can you lend me some?
  3. We had to walk home because there were __________ taxis.
  4. We had to walk home because there weren't __________ taxis.
  5. 'How many eggs have we got?'  ' __________ . Do you want me to get some?'
  6. We took a few pictures, but __________ of them were very good.
  7. 'Did you take lots of pictures?'  'No, I didn't take __________ .'
  8. What a stupid thing to do! __________ intelligent person would do such a thing.
  9. There's nowhere to cross the river. There's __________ bridge.
  10. I haven't read __________ of the books you lent me.
  11. We cancelled the party because __________ of the people we invited were able to come.
  12. 'Do you know when Chris will be back?'  'I'm sorry. I have __________ idea.'

86.2 Answer these questions using none/nobody/nothing/nowhere.

  1. What did you do? .
  2. Who were you talking to? __________ .
  3. How much sugar do you want? __________ .
  4. Where are you going? __________ .
  5. How many emails did you get? __________ .
  6. How much did you pay? __________ .

Now answer the same questions using complete sentences with any/anybody/anything/anywhere.

  1. (1) .
  2. (2) I __________ .
  3. (3) __________ .
  4. (4) __________ .
  5. (5) __________ .
  6. (6) __________ .

86.3 Complete these sentences with no- or any- + -body/-thing/-where.

  1. I don't want (1) to drink. I'm not thirsty.
  2. The bus was completely empty. There was (2)__________ on it.
  3. 'Where did you go for your holidays?'  '(3) __________ . I stayed at home.'
  4. I went to the shops, but I didn't buy (4) __________ .
  5. 'What did you buy?'  '(5) __________ . I couldn't find (6) __________ I wanted.'
  6. The town is still the same as it was years ago. (7) __________ has changed.
  7. Have you seen my watch? I can't find it (8) __________ .
  8. There was complete silence in the room. (9) __________ said (10) __________ .

86.4 Choose the right word.

  1. She didn't tell nobody / anybody about her plans.
    • nobody
    • anybody
  2. The accident looked bad, but fortunately nobody / anybody was badly injured.
    • nobody
    • anybody
  3. I looked out of the window, but I couldn't see no-one / anyone.
    • no-one
    • anyone
  4. My job is very easy. Nobody / Anybody could do it.
    • Nobody
    • Anybody
  5. 'What's in that box?'  'Nothing / Anything. It's empty.'
    • Nothing
    • Anything
  6. The situation is uncertain. Nothing / Anything could happen.
    • Nothing
    • Anything
  7. I don't know nothing / anything about economics.
    • nothing
    • anything
  8. I'll try and answer no / any questions you ask me.
    • no
    • any
  9. 'Who were you talking to just now?'  'No-one / Anyone. I wasn't talking to anyone.
    • No-one
    • Anyone

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