[Grammar] He has got no friends

[chingchangchong]

Hello, teacher.

I have a question.

"He has got no friends"

Why we don't say "He hasn't a friend"? "No friend" is not multiple.

I am sorry. I know it is fool's question.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Either of those works. English has multiple ways of conveying a thought. It is a very rich language.

 

[Tdol]

"No friend" is not multiple.

You can have a plural negative in English. Singular and plural don't always follow strict numerical logic. And if we used the number zero, we would use the plural- he has zero friends, not zero friend.

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

'He has no friend' is not wrong. It is literary or poetic but not common in normal speech.

To me, as a BrE speaker I prefer 'He has no friends' to 'He has got no friends' but both are commonly used.

You could also say, 'He hasn't any friends', or 'He hasn't a friend in the world' or many others.