No, None or Any?
No, none and any can be used when we say that something doesn't exist, or that the meaning of an expression is negative. They are used in different sentence structures:
No + noun
No comes directly before a noun, with an otherwise positive verb. Because of the no, the sentence gains a negative meaning even though the verb is not negative.
- There's no time. (= There isn't any time.)
- We have no friends here.
- Jo had no brothers.
Not... any + noun
Any is used with a negative verb (isn't, don't, didn't...).
! Watch out: Using no and a negative verb together in the same clause is a double negative, which is incorrect to use.
- I don't have any money. (not:
I don't have no money.) - There aren't any trees in the garden.
- They didn't buy any clothes.
None – without a noun
None is a pronoun that replaces a noun completely (it is used alone, especially in short answers) and often goes with of.
- How many architects do you know? – None.
- He went to buy some oranges but he got none.
- Tim had three sisters but none of them worked here.
Quick reference
no + noun (positive verb) = not... any + noun (negative verb)
none = used alone, without repeating the noun
