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.
- John is not at home today.
- The exercise wasn’t (= was not) difficult.
- John plays the piano, but not very well.
- “How are you?” “Not too bad.”
- “How was the film?” “No good at all.”
- “How was the film?” “Not good at all.”
- “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.”
not
Not is used as an adverb to make a sentence negative. It is often used with the verb ‘be’:
Not is often used to make an adjective or adverb negative:
However, the adjective good can be combined with both not and no:
Not is often used in short replies with a number of verbs:
shamim Rahmani says
What is the difference between No and Not? Please, make me understand about these words for that I ever thankful to you…
Gurmeet says
Really helpful
Bukid says
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.
Nestor says
Hi, both are correct but ‘no later than’ is more common and also slightly more formal.
Sandeep says
Very helpful
maria bhatti says
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
khurshid pathansir says
informatoin is good we want more
zeeshan Ahmad says
advance and latest difrence between no and not
Murphy Wu says
Thank you, there. May I say, “I am no boy.” instead of “I am not a boy.” since no=not a?
Nestor says
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!”