need help about English

[nietsni3]

ok, here is the thing: i have been seeing people write both of these structures in official documents:

i have no friend (friend without s)

and

i have no friends (friend with s)

so i dont know if no (or zero) is a single or plural number. i asked my english teacher and she couldnt answer either. she told me to do some research.

so if anyone major in English know the answer for this, please help. thanks alot

 

[DAM]

They are both correct zero is both plural and singular.

 

[Whisper]

Depends on the context:

"No friend of mine is going to act like that"

"I have no friends"

In the sentence that you gave, though, no would almost always take the plural.

 

[nietsni3]

both of your points sound right
i have another idea:
i found this from dictionary.com
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no

adj : quantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns for indicating a complete or almost complete lack or zero quantity of; "we have no bananas"; "no eggs left and no money to buy any"; "have you no decency?"; "did it with no help"; "I'll get you there in no time" [syn: no(a)] [ant: all(a), some(a)] n 1: a negative; "his no was loud and clear" [ant: yes] 2: a radioactive transuranic element synthesized by bombarding curium with carbon ions; 7 isotopes are known [syn: nobelium, No, atomic number 102] adv 1: referring to the degree to which a certain quality is present; "he was no heavier than a child" [syn: no more] 2: not in any degree or manner; not at all; "he is no better today" 3: used to express refusal or denial or disagreement etc or especially to emphasize a negative statement; "no, you are wrong"
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that is the only entry that has the word zero in it. out of that, i cant find any other definition of "no" that says it indicate a number (zero). so i guess, "no" is just acting as a adjective in front of a noun to modify that noun, like "good" in "i have good friend" or "i have good friends".

 

[lobadobadingdong]

incorrect context, if you said "I have zero friend.", it wouldn't make any sense. unless english is a second language 😉