Here’s something I don’t know how to explain:
When do I use “no?and when do I use “not?to modify a gerund? For example,
these sentences are all correct:
Not doing anything about it is worse than doing the wrong thing.
Bob thinks going to the opera isn’t a bad idea, but he thinks that not
going is a better idea.
There will be no smoking in this office ever again!
At the children’s camp, the rules are quite strict: After 8:00 p.m.,
there is no talking, no reading and no watching television.
Inge D
Posted 04 December 2001
No is used with gerunds
just as it is used with any noun or noun substitute: to mean not
any.
There will be no smoking in this office ever again!
is equivalent to
There will not be any smoking
in this office ever again!
Just as:
There is no food in the pantry.
is equivalent to
There isn't any food in the
pantry.
To give a gerund a negative meaning, not combines with
the -ing verb
form:
I considered going to the meeting.
I considered not going to the meeting.
Going seemed like a good idea.
Not going seemed like a good idea.
Also, no (not not)
is often used with gerunds in notices that say a particular activity
is prohibited (No Smoking, No talking).
In this case, it would appear that no is still the equivalent
of not any ?"There will not be any smoking in this area."
Betty Azar