When a quantity is zero, English offers two common ways to describe the absence.
The idea
Put not any after a negative auxiliary, or put no directly before a noun with an affirmative verb. Both work with plural and uncountable nouns.
Examples
- There isn’t any milk in the fridge.
- We have no chairs in the garden.
- Mina doesn’t have any coins for the bus.
- There are no flowers on the table.
- I didn’t get any messages this morning.
- The shop has no bread left.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic English voice on your device. Quality and availability vary; it does not assess pronunciation.
No English device voice is available. You can still read the examples.
Watch out
Avoid I don’t have no milk in standard English: the two negatives create an unintended double negative. Say I don’t have any milk or I have no milk.
Try it yourself
Choose the correct option. There are ___ apples in the basket. (no / not any)
Show answer or example answer
no
no goes before the plural noun after the affirmative verb are.
Choose the correct option. I don’t have ___ time today. (any / no)
Show answer or example answer
any
any follows the negative verb don’t have and describes an uncountable amount.
Choose the correct option. The café has ___ tables outside. (no / not any)
Show answer or example answer
no
no makes the noun phrase negative while has stays affirmative.
Practice round
Answer questions and rebuild English sentences to practise. Your score is shown.
Choose the correct option. There are ___ apples in the basket. (no / not any)
Choose the correct option. I don’t have ___ time today. (any / no)
Choose the correct option. The café has ___ tables outside. (no / not any)
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
Sign up for free to save your practice results.
Sign up to saveI already have an accountUse it today
Describe an empty cupboard in two ways, using a negative verb in one sentence and a positive verb in the other.