no feeding no TV

Question

Hi teachers,1.  I read from a book:  'No feeding, no TV.' Mom said.     Can you use intransitive form 'No feeding' instead of 'No feeding dog'?2. 'She was watching TV, but mom asked her to go walk the dog but she still was watching.'      Is 'she still was watching' correct? Can it go alone without TV?3.  Follow this pattern, can you write, no doing homework, no TVThanksTN

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

1. I read from a book: 'No feeding, no TV.' Mom said.

No X, no Y. Is an informal sentence pattern which translates to "If you don't do X, you won't get Y."
"Feeding" is a verb form, and it is transitive. This sentence pattern is highly contextual - you almost always need a context to fill in the verbs. .
"No veggies, no dessert" = If you don't eat your veggies, you won't get dessert.
"No tickee, no laundry." = This is the classic phrase; the origin of the pattern. The setting is a Chinese laundry: If you don't bring you ticket, you won't get your clean clothes.

Is 'she still was watching' correct? Yes but not quite natural to a native speaker.
Can it go alone without TV? Yes,but it would be better with "it." This version makes more sense:

2. 'She was watching TV and mom asked her to go walk the dog. But ten minutes later, she ~~still~~ was still watching it.'

3. Follow this pattern, can you write, no doing homework, no TV

Better:
No homework, no TV.

Philip · Answer

I'll start with #3. You need to keep the structure parallel: no homework, no TV. Realize, of course, this is casual speech rather than formal English.
#2 is rather convoluted: Mom asked her to go walk the dog, but she continued watching TV.
#1 doesn't sound natural to me Technically, it is parallel structure, as the -ing form of a verb can be used as a noun. Adding "dog" does seem to make it better, but I would say: no food for the dog, no TV for you.

[ I might add here that, although many people don't know even know what parallel structure is, we somehow use it automatically especially in simple situations. ]

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi AlpheccaStars,

Thanks for correcting the sentences. In 'No feeding, no TV.' Mom said. Do you mean it should be 'No feeding the dog, no TV.'

Thanks
TN

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Thanks for correcting the sentences. In 'No feeding, no TV.' Mom said. Do you mean it should be 'No feeding the dog, no TV.'

As Philip said, the pattern is No X, no Y. The context provides the translation. Probably the child's job was to feed the dog, and he was tired of doing it. Mom is saying "You will be punished if you don't feed the dog. I won't let you watch TV."
You don't need "dog" because it is supplied by the context.

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi Philip and AlpheccaStars,

Thanks for the explanation.

TN

no feeding no TV

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