the longer an English speaker remains in Korea the greater the chances are that he/she unintentionally learns and uses Konglish - a Korean/English hybrid language - in place of proper English. i'm wondering if that is what has happened to me.
Is this correct English: "he has no any friends" ?
my ears tell me this is wrong but my brain is asking, "why is it wrong?". i cannot be sure as i don't know what (if any) English rule is being broken in the above sentence. i only know that these alternatives sound (more) correct:
"he has no friends"
-or-
"he doesn't have any friends"
-or-
"he hasn't got any friends"
-or-
"he hasn't any friends"
anyone want to weigh in on this? when i looked online i found many sentences that contained the phrase "no any" which is why i am second guessing myself. i couldn't find one reference stating "no any" was incorrect usage either online or in my trusty-dusty English writer's reference. so either this is one of those popularly misused phrases or i've lost my English touch.
UPDATE: my mother has provided the following priceless input:
Sue,
The proper sentence is, "He has no friends."
The reason: "Because I said so."
This is considered a perfectly acceptable explanation in America, ever since the invention of toddlers. Trust me.
Love, Mom
classic. i love it!
3 comments:
This is why I hate it when foreign friends ask me to correct their English. There are so many quirks and idiosynchrosies of this language, and being one of the generation that was not formally taught grammar at school, I struggle to know exactly why a sentence is wrong sometimes.
Re: "no any" - it sounds wrong as you say, but maybe not to a non-native English speaker. Why use an extra word when it's not necessary to convey the meaning. "Any" is such a piffling little word.
I go with your Mom's advice. :D
They say English is the hardest language to learn, now you know why!
BTW, 'mom's' advice rocks, I seem to be saying that a lot myself these days. :)
hi bluewave, you make a good point about how "no any" sounds to a non-native English speaker. btw, how did you escape grammar at school?
hi tracie, ... the things mommy's know about life!
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