MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH

Before doing this activity you may need to read the text you will find at the end


  Drag&Drop
Difference between NO and NONE
Focus Grammar
Description Let's practise the difference between the article NO and the pronouns NONE or NOTHING/NOBODY. Always use the best option.
Instructions Click on the words at the bottom and drag them into the empty boxes of the sentence to complete it.
 
Gapped text Items
When the police arrive, they could see ______________________ inside the house no / none / nobody
______________________ of my brothers remembered my birthday No / None / Nobody
- Look at these sweaters. Which one do you like? - ______________________ No / None / Nothing
Of course the box is empty, I told you there is ______________________ inside that box. no / nothing / none
- Can you give me the big box or the small one? - Sorry, I can give you ______________________ of them. no / none / neither / nothing
I bought two sweaters, but know I like ______________________ of them neither / no / none
Peter and Kevin are out. ______________________ of them will be here before nine o'clock. nobody / no / Neither / none
I have many friends, but ______________________ of them live near here. none / nobody / neither / no
- Is there any beer in the house? - No, there is ______________________ nothing / none / no
______________________ man is an island None / No
______________________ of my fingers was hurt neither / no / none
I called for help, but ______________________ came. nobody / none / no
You don't have to help me, I need ______________________ no / nothing / none
I have ______________________ cousins in the city none / no
I have ______________________ plans for the summer no / none / nothing
______________________ is better than a sunny day on the beach, she said None / No / Nothing
______________________ of my friends knows I'm here Nobody / None / No
- How many books have you read this month? - ______________________ None / No / Nothing
There's ______________________ place like home nothing / none / neither / no
I have ______________________ wife and ______________________ children none / none / any / no / a / no
______________________ of your hands is dirty no / neither / none
I need ______________________ food, thanks, I just had lunch. neither / no / none
______________________ student could understand what she said Nobody / None / No
______________________ knows the answer to that question None / Nobody / No
I have 25 students, ______________________ of them older than 12. none / neither / no
Total number of items: 25
This is an activity from Multimedia-English www.multimedia-english.com
 

NO  /nəʊ/ IS AN ARTICLE  - it goes before a noun

NO (=not a / not any)
- There is no sugar = there isn't any sugar
- I have no car = I don't have a car
- I have no problems = I don't have any problems

Note: NO can also be an adverb, the opposite of YES, but that's a different word and it is always used as the answer to a question:
- Do you like it? - No, I don't

 


NONE /nʌn/ IS A PRONOUN  -it goes alone

None = No + noun

- He has two cars and I have none (= no cars)
- I bought a lot of milk, but now there is none (= no milk)
- I asked many people, but none knew it (= no people)

If the noun substituted is the word "person" or "thing" we prefer the pronouns "nobody" and "nothing":

- I looked through the window but I saw nobody (not a person)
- I had everything I wanted, but now I have nothing (not a thing)

tip: if you can use "nobody" or "nothing", use them and forget about "none".

- What have you got to drink? - Nothing (not a thing)
- Who went with you? - Nobody (= not a person)
- You have four children and I have none (= no children)

Compare:

- How many beers have you got in the fridge? - None (= no beers, but maybe I have milk and water, etc)
- What have you got in the fridge? - Nothing (= not a thing, zero, empty)

NONE + of + determiner (the, my, this...)

We always use NONE before OF:

- None of the books is interesting
- None of my friends knows it
- None of us speaks French

To talk about 2 we must use NEITHER /nðə*/ (AmE /ni:ðər/)

- Neither of my parents and none of my brothers and sisters are here.