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What is the difference between ‘no’ and ‘not’?

What is the difference between ‘no’ and ‘not’?

June 15, 2013 By Nestor 10 Comments

In English, no and not have similar meanings, but they are used in different ways. It is very easy to be confused about these words.

In this post, I will explain the difference.

No

No is used as an exclamation:

  • “Can I help you?” “No. Everything is okay.”
  • “Do you like this soup?” “No.”

No is used as an adjective before singular and plural nouns. It means ‘not a’ or ‘not any’:

  • There were no girls at the party.
  • I have no time to help you. I’m too busy.
  • not

    Not is used as an adverb to make a sentence negative. It is often used with the verb ‘be’:

    • John is not at home today.
    • The exercise wasn’t (= was not) difficult.

    Not is often used to make an adjective or adverb negative:

    • John plays the piano, but not very well.
    • “How are you?” “Not too bad.”

    However, the adjective good can be combined with both not and no:

    • “How was the film?” “No good at all.”
    • “How was the film?” “Not good at all.”

    Not is often used in short replies with a number of verbs:

    • “Was the party good?” “I’m afraid not.”
    • “Is it going to rain tomorrow?” “I hope not.”
    • “Are you going out tonight?” “I think not.”

Filed Under: Confusing words in English, Typical mistakes in English

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. shamim Rahmani says

    August 18, 2013 at 11:19 am

    What is the difference between No and Not? Please, make me understand about these words for that I ever thankful to you…

    Reply
  2. Gurmeet says

    January 6, 2014 at 5:03 pm

    Really helpful

    Reply
    • Bukid says

      October 28, 2015 at 12:36 am

      Which is correct:
      The tickets shall be used not later than December 25, 2015.
      or
      The tickets shall be used no later than December 25, 2015.

      Reply
      • Nestor says

        November 15, 2015 at 10:35 pm

        Hi, both are correct but ‘no later than’ is more common and also slightly more formal.

        Reply
  3. Sandeep says

    July 18, 2014 at 8:40 am

    Very helpful

    Reply
  4. maria bhatti says

    May 24, 2015 at 7:08 pm

    Its very help full
    I want to share a thing that the word not” we can use to make a clause or expression negative by putting “not” before it

    Reply
  5. khurshid pathansir says

    July 2, 2015 at 7:14 pm

    informatoin is good we want more

    Reply
  6. zeeshan Ahmad says

    October 14, 2015 at 4:36 am

    advance and latest difrence between no and not

    Reply
  7. Murphy Wu says

    December 15, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    Thank you, there. May I say, “I am no boy.” instead of “I am not a boy.” since no=not a?

    Reply
    • Nestor says

      December 15, 2018 at 10:14 pm

      Hello, yes you can. But the context is different. You can say “I am no boy” when you remind somebody (often in a joking way) that you do not have the characteristics of a boy. For example:

      “Do you think I enjoy playing rugby, listening to rap music and talking about cars? I’m no boy!”

      Reply

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