No or not?

There is very little difference in meaning between There is/are no + noun and There isn’t/aren’t any + noun:

There’s no reason to be afraid of her. (or There isn’t any reason to be afraid of her.)

There are no eggs in the fridge. (or There aren’t any eggs in the fridge.)

No + noun often makes the negative stronger. In speaking, we often stress no.

When a noun has an ungradable meaning (it is either something or it is not) we cannot use no + noun:

A potato is not a fruit.

Not: A potato is no fruit.

When a noun has a gradable meaning, no + noun means the same as not a/an + noun:

[a football manager talking about signing a new player]

It’s no secret that we are interested. (= It’s not a secret. A secret is gradable. Something can be more of a secret than something else.)

We often use no to respond to a yes-no question, or to agree with a negative statement. We don’t use not on its own in this way:

A:

Do you need anything from the shops?

B:

No. I went earlier, thanks.

A:

He’s not going to get any better.

B:

No. You’re right.

Not: Not. You’re right.

We use no and not in some common fixed expressions:

A:

When you see Alan, can you give him this letter?

B:

Yes sure, no problem.

She had no idea what time they were arriving.

It’s no good standing around watching. Do something!

You’ve got no chance of getting a ticket now. They’re all sold out.

It’s not worth taking a taxi. We can walk.