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Aramahosi Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

No vs not

Every man who has reached even his intellectual teens begins to suspect that life is no farce; that it is not genteel comedy even; that it flowers and fructifies on the contrary out of the profoundest tragic depths of the essential dearth in which its subject's roots are plunged. The natural inheritance of everyone who is capable of spiritual life is an unsubdued forest where the wolf howls and the obscene bird of night chatters.


Could you tell me the difference between "life is no farce" and "life is not a farce"? Thanks in advance!
  

Top answer

" He is no friend of mine! ) Life is no farce. ) Was this passage written by a native speaker?

— BarbaraPA

  • " He is no friend of mine!
  • ) Life is no farce.
  • ) Was this passage written by a native speaker?
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4 Answers
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The form is "X is no [noun]" which means "X is not a [noun]."

He is no friend of mine! (He is not my friend.)
Life is no farce. (Life is not a farce.)

Was this passage written by a native speaker?
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Thanks very much! This passage is quoted from English translation of a Spanish novel.
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Just to add to Grammar Geek, translating from a Spanish novel can make English translation even more complicate...LOL so bear that in mind.
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That word should have been complicated...sorry about that.
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