'no'

[ciccio]

1. There were no shops open/No shops were open
2. There was no shop open/No shop was open

Which is correct? or more likely

[Peter]

Hi Ciccio

I would use 1, the second alternative. That is not to say that "There were no shops open" is not used, but my feeling is that it is used a lot less than "No shops were open". At the moment I cannot think of a context where you would use the first instead of the second; my feeling is that it is very much a question of style.

[Davide]

I'd definitely go with No 1. No 2 sounds a little stilted.

[Geoff]

I would also go with number 1) but could use either alternative depending on what else I was saying around the sentence and which one I did use would not make the other incorrect. As Peter said, it is largely a matter of personal style.

[ciccio]

Thank you all
Your replies make me think that 'no' should be followed by a plural noun, when possible. But:

No politician tells the truth all the time

would sound more natural than

No politicians tell the truth all the time

am I wrong?

[Peter]

Thank you all
Your replies make me think that 'no' should be followed by a plural noun, when possible. But:

No politician tells the truth all the time

would sound more natural than

No politicians tell the truth all the time

am I wrong?

No - I would say that, or rather I would say "No politician tells the truth" - end of story.

[rob-ander]

i loved your analogy there..........for me today i doubled posted at mindy and michael s forum I am curious about italian's opinions on some words in english and spanish ....I in fact gave my own opnion on some ,wouldn t mind yours too

[azurro]

i think if u shouldn't have responded to my reply the way you did, everyone would be giving you examples man
why hate some words in other languages ?? do u even speak them fluently ? are you hispanic ? something tells me you are since you are always asking what they think about Spanish words
besides why would you want to know what words in English and Spanish Italians hate or don't like ? have you realized that most of italians living in italy only speak italian ? very few of them speak spanish and english let alone with fluency

[Peter]

Regarding the last post on this discussion, what is the point of it? I would suggest that a degree of respect is shown. rob-ander had every right to post his message, no matter what others may think or care. May I remind you of one of Voltaire's famous sayings, perhaps his most famous: I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. That forms the basis of itelligent discussion. Sure we can say we do not agree with something, but it is always, but always, better to do so in a non-confrontational way. rather than throwing one's toys out of the pram!