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Square Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

"no" as a determiner

There's no food left in the fridge.

I have read that the word "no" in the sentence is a determiner.
Could you explain why it is called a determiner?
Here is the definition of determiner from Longman dictionary:

determiner
a word that is used before a noun in order to show which thing you mean. In the phrases 'the car' and 'some cars', 'the' and 'some' are determiners

I can't figure out how "no" fits the definition above. Thanks.
  

Top answer

Square I can't figure out how "no" fits the definition above. There is some food left in the fridge. There is no food left in the fridge.

  • Square I can't figure out how "no" fits the definition above.
  • There is some food left in the fridge.
  • There is no food left in the fridge.
  • If "some" is a determiner, "no" must be one too.
  • They both tell us how much food is left.
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2 Answers
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SquareI can't figure out how "no" fits the definition above.
There is some food left in the fridge. There is no food left in the fridge.

If "some" is a determiner, "no" must be one too. They both tell us how much food is left.
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Squarea word that is used before a noun in order to show which thing you mean. In the phrases 'the car' and 'some cars', 'the' and 'some' are determiners
A better definition would be “a word that serves to mark the noun phrase as definite or indefinite”. No is an indefinite determiner.

Like the and some, no can't be dropped

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