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Exp Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
Not less than vs. no less than
I know this question has been asked repeatedly here or elsewhere, but I want to make sure of it myself in further details....
"He has no less than 10 dollars." = He has, surprisingly, to my astonishment, 10 dollars. He does not have any lesser amount than 10 dollars (9 dollars, 5 dollars, etc.), so he has exactly the same amount. The use of "no" instead of simple negation "not" denies the possibility of him having any possible lesser amount. Not only that, the sentence implies the fact that he has the said amount is surprising. This is the more commonly used expression than the next one.
"He has not less than 10 dollars." = He has at least, or at minimum, 10 dollars. He may have the exact same amount (10 dollars), or he may have more (11 dollars, 200 dollars, etc.). Either way, the amount that he has is just not "less." If it's not "less," then it must be either "the same" or "more." Whether it's "the same" or "more" is uncertain, not known to me, but it is most definitely not "less." That much is certain
Is the above understanding correct?
"He has no less than 10 dollars." = He has, surprisingly, to my astonishment, 10 dollars. He does not have any lesser amount than 10 dollars (9 dollars, 5 dollars, etc.), so he has exactly the same amount. The use of "no" instead of simple negation "not" denies the possibility of him having any possible lesser amount. Not only that, the sentence implies the fact that he has the said amount is surprising. This is the more commonly used expression than the next one.
"He has not less than 10 dollars." = He has at least, or at minimum, 10 dollars. He may have the exact same amount (10 dollars), or he may have more (11 dollars, 200 dollars, etc.). Either way, the amount that he has is just not "less." If it's not "less," then it must be either "the same" or "more." Whether it's "the same" or "more" is uncertain, not known to me, but it is most definitely not "less." That much is certain
Is the above understanding correct?
Top answer
Just one point I would make ... You explain the idiomatic meaning of "no less than". However, it is also possible for "no less than" to mean the same as "not less than".
- Just one point I would make ...
- You explain the idiomatic meaning of "no less than".
- However, it is also possible for "no less than" to mean the same as "not less than".
- The intended meaning must be deduced from content, or, in speech, possibly using clues from intonation.
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1 Answers
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Just one point I would make ... You explain the idiomatic meaning of "no less than". However, it is also possible for "no less than" to mean the same as "not less than". The intended meaning must be deduced from content, or, in speech, possibly using clues from intonation.
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