Plural or Singular noun after "No

[ckcgordon]

I find it very difficult to decide whether I should use plural/singular noun after the word "no". For example, some friends told me we should say "No problem", but some others said it's correct to say "No problems".


I only saw "No Dogs Allowed" but not "No Dog Allowed" before.


There are a lot of confusing cases. Look at the one below:

(1) There is no photocopier in my office.
(2) There are no photocopiers in my office.

Which one is correct? Singular:(1) or Plural:(2)? Or both? Could someone help?

[Anglika]

There is no "correct" or "incorrect" in this case - it depends on the context.

Providing any verb used matches the plural or singular, you can use what is required for the situation.

[ckcgordon]

I'm sorry. I still don't quite understand. How can the context affect our choice between the following two sentences?

There are 2 photocopiers in my wife's office, but...
(1) There is no photocopier in my office.
(2) There are no photocopiers in my office.

Will you choose (1) or (2) in this particular situation?

[Anglika]

Originally Posted by ckcgordon

I'm sorry. I still don't quite understand. How can the context affect our choice between the following two sentences?

There are 2 photocopiers in my wife's office, but...
(1) There is no photocopier in my office.
(2) There are no photocopiers in my office.

Will you choose (1) or (2) in this particular situation?

Either could be used. The context permits that. If on the other hand you are responding to the question: "Is there a photocopier in your office?", then (1) is better than (2).

If I was going to be very pedantic, you should use (2) as you refer to plural photocopiers in the first part of the sentence, but then I could also say I would not use either, but rather "There are two photocopiers in my wife's office but none in mine."

[ckcgordon]

Thanks, Anglika.
Thanks for answering my question from different perspectives.