“Of course not” or “of course no”?
I'm not a native English speaker, and I've heard this from a teacher of mine who is not a native speaker either. Is it correct to say "Of course no"?
expressions
edited Feb 19 '16 at 23:59
NEO
1501310
asked Feb 19 '16 at 20:56
Saeed NazariSaeed Nazari
1111
add a comment |
I'm not a native English speaker, and I've heard this from a teacher of mine who is not a native speaker either. Is it correct to say "Of course no"?
expressions
edited Feb 19 '16 at 23:59
NEO
1501310
asked Feb 19 '16 at 20:56
Saeed NazariSaeed Nazari
1111
1
Of course no person would think that "Of course not" is the only possible response. In other words, we need more context to be able to answer- please edit your question and add details, especially what was the question your friend was responding to?
– cobaltduck
Feb 19 '16 at 21:05
add a comment |
I'm not a native English speaker, and I've heard this from a teacher of mine who is not a native speaker either. Is it correct to say "Of course no"?
expressions
edited Feb 19 '16 at 23:59
NEO
1501310
asked Feb 19 '16 at 20:56
Saeed NazariSaeed Nazari
1111
I'm not a native English speaker, and I've heard this from a teacher of mine who is not a native speaker either. Is it correct to say "Of course no"?
expressions
expressions
edited Feb 19 '16 at 23:59
NEO
1501310
asked Feb 19 '16 at 20:56
Saeed NazariSaeed Nazari
1111
edited Feb 19 '16 at 23:59
NEO
1501310
asked Feb 19 '16 at 20:56
Saeed NazariSaeed Nazari
1111
edited Feb 19 '16 at 23:59
NEO
1501310
edited Feb 19 '16 at 23:59
NEO
1501310
edited Feb 19 '16 at 23:59
NEO
1501310
1501310
asked Feb 19 '16 at 20:56
Saeed NazariSaeed Nazari
1111
asked Feb 19 '16 at 20:56
Saeed NazariSaeed Nazari
1111
asked Feb 19 '16 at 20:56
Saeed NazariSaeed Nazari
1111
1111
1
Of course no person would think that "Of course not" is the only possible response. In other words, we need more context to be able to answer- please edit your question and add details, especially what was the question your friend was responding to?
– cobaltduck
Feb 19 '16 at 21:05
add a comment |
1
Of course no person would think that "Of course not" is the only possible response. In other words, we need more context to be able to answer- please edit your question and add details, especially what was the question your friend was responding to?
– cobaltduck
Feb 19 '16 at 21:05
1
1
Of course no person would think that "Of course not" is the only possible response. In other words, we need more context to be able to answer- please edit your question and add details, especially what was the question your friend was responding to?
– cobaltduck
Feb 19 '16 at 21:05
Of course no person would think that "Of course not" is the only possible response. In other words, we need more context to be able to answer- please edit your question and add details, especially what was the question your friend was responding to?
– cobaltduck
Feb 19 '16 at 21:05
add a comment |
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
It depends on the context. "of course not/course not" is used to emphasize that you are saying 'no' to something. This is a widely accepted use case for stating denial over "of course no". I'm not even sure about the usage of "of course no" in fact.
answered Feb 19 '16 at 21:13
rnaikzzrnaikzz
1253
Of course no usually pops up in conversations that ask about "Did you really say that? Have you seriously answered with no?" "Of course no!" I haven't seen it in usage in a very long while now.
– Sakatox
Feb 19 '16 at 21:16
I think "of course not" will still convey the same meaning here. The usage is all about convenience and you are right its been obsolete for a while now.
– rnaikzz
Feb 19 '16 at 21:20
Meaning? Absolutely agree on that account. Poor/emphasized choice of words? Definitely, the emphasis on a No can be important in some conversations, although a tad bit pointless - childish arguing with fluid rules for example. (English is expressive and a huge miasma, mess of rules and words from everywhere. This is why, even if being obsolete, the Of course no format can live on.)
– Sakatox
Feb 19 '16 at 21:24
"Of course not" is the normal negative form of "of course." You'd have to think hard and stretch the imagination to find a way to use "of course no." You could come up with something, but that would still not be the normal way of saying "of course" in the negative. No need to explain your context.
– Steven Littman
Feb 19 '16 at 22:02
add a comment |
"Of course no" cannot be used to express that your answer is clearly a "No". Perhaps we can consider the case of "True" (or "False") as an analogy? "True" would be a valid and complete answer to a question. Yet we would not say "Of course true". "True, of course" would be acceptable, and so is "No, of course".
However, both "No, of course" and "Of course no" combine a (potentially complete) affirmative answer and a (potentially complete) negative answer in the same sentence, which is quite disfluent. You may be able to avoid confusion by stressing either part in speech, but obviously not in writing.
answered Feb 20 '16 at 0:09
Benedict M.J.G.Benedict M.J.G.
664
add a comment |
'Of course no' could be considered correct, but awkward in normal everyday American English.
The most common, usual phrase is, 'Of course not.'
It implies 'clearly not', or 'obviously not.'
However, if you were to ask someone, "Did you mean to say no?" They could reply, "Of course, No!" This implies 'clearly I meant to say no.'
In Portuguese 'of course not' would be translated as 'Claro que nao,' meaning 'clearly no.' But when translated back to English it is 'Of course not.'
answered Sep 3 '18 at 23:31
RobbRobb
1
add a comment |
Of course no one could ever come up with a way to use 'of course no' in a sentence.
Oh, wait.
answered 10 mins ago
E.D ScottE.D Scott
1
New contributor
E.D Scott is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f308483%2fof-course-not-or-of-course-no%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
It depends on the context. "of course not/course not" is used to emphasize that you are saying 'no' to something. This is a widely accepted use case for stating denial over "of course no". I'm not even sure about the usage of "of course no" in fact.
answered Feb 19 '16 at 21:13
rnaikzzrnaikzz
1253
Of course no usually pops up in conversations that ask about "Did you really say that? Have you seriously answered with no?" "Of course no!" I haven't seen it in usage in a very long while now.
– Sakatox
Feb 19 '16 at 21:16
I think "of course not" will still convey the same meaning here. The usage is all about convenience and you are right its been obsolete for a while now.
– rnaikzz
Feb 19 '16 at 21:20
Meaning? Absolutely agree on that account. Poor/emphasized choice of words? Definitely, the emphasis on a No can be important in some conversations, although a tad bit pointless - childish arguing with fluid rules for example. (English is expressive and a huge miasma, mess of rules and words from everywhere. This is why, even if being obsolete, the Of course no format can live on.)
– Sakatox
Feb 19 '16 at 21:24
"Of course not" is the normal negative form of "of course." You'd have to think hard and stretch the imagination to find a way to use "of course no." You could come up with something, but that would still not be the normal way of saying "of course" in the negative. No need to explain your context.
– Steven Littman
Feb 19 '16 at 22:02
add a comment |
It depends on the context. "of course not/course not" is used to emphasize that you are saying 'no' to something. This is a widely accepted use case for stating denial over "of course no". I'm not even sure about the usage of "of course no" in fact.
answered Feb 19 '16 at 21:13
rnaikzzrnaikzz
1253
Of course no usually pops up in conversations that ask about "Did you really say that? Have you seriously answered with no?" "Of course no!" I haven't seen it in usage in a very long while now.
– Sakatox
Feb 19 '16 at 21:16
I think "of course not" will still convey the same meaning here. The usage is all about convenience and you are right its been obsolete for a while now.
– rnaikzz
Feb 19 '16 at 21:20
Meaning? Absolutely agree on that account. Poor/emphasized choice of words? Definitely, the emphasis on a No can be important in some conversations, although a tad bit pointless - childish arguing with fluid rules for example. (English is expressive and a huge miasma, mess of rules and words from everywhere. This is why, even if being obsolete, the Of course no format can live on.)
– Sakatox
Feb 19 '16 at 21:24
"Of course not" is the normal negative form of "of course." You'd have to think hard and stretch the imagination to find a way to use "of course no." You could come up with something, but that would still not be the normal way of saying "of course" in the negative. No need to explain your context.
– Steven Littman
Feb 19 '16 at 22:02
add a comment |
It depends on the context. "of course not/course not" is used to emphasize that you are saying 'no' to something. This is a widely accepted use case for stating denial over "of course no". I'm not even sure about the usage of "of course no" in fact.
answered Feb 19 '16 at 21:13
rnaikzzrnaikzz
1253
It depends on the context. "of course not/course not" is used to emphasize that you are saying 'no' to something. This is a widely accepted use case for stating denial over "of course no". I'm not even sure about the usage of "of course no" in fact.
answered Feb 19 '16 at 21:13
rnaikzzrnaikzz
1253
answered Feb 19 '16 at 21:13
rnaikzzrnaikzz
1253
answered Feb 19 '16 at 21:13
rnaikzzrnaikzz
1253
answered Feb 19 '16 at 21:13
rnaikzzrnaikzz
1253
1253
Of course no usually pops up in conversations that ask about "Did you really say that? Have you seriously answered with no?" "Of course no!" I haven't seen it in usage in a very long while now.
– Sakatox
Feb 19 '16 at 21:16
I think "of course not" will still convey the same meaning here. The usage is all about convenience and you are right its been obsolete for a while now.
– rnaikzz
Feb 19 '16 at 21:20
Meaning? Absolutely agree on that account. Poor/emphasized choice of words? Definitely, the emphasis on a No can be important in some conversations, although a tad bit pointless - childish arguing with fluid rules for example. (English is expressive and a huge miasma, mess of rules and words from everywhere. This is why, even if being obsolete, the Of course no format can live on.)
– Sakatox
Feb 19 '16 at 21:24
"Of course not" is the normal negative form of "of course." You'd have to think hard and stretch the imagination to find a way to use "of course no." You could come up with something, but that would still not be the normal way of saying "of course" in the negative. No need to explain your context.
– Steven Littman
Feb 19 '16 at 22:02
add a comment |
Of course no usually pops up in conversations that ask about "Did you really say that? Have you seriously answered with no?" "Of course no!" I haven't seen it in usage in a very long while now.
– Sakatox
Feb 19 '16 at 21:16
I think "of course not" will still convey the same meaning here. The usage is all about convenience and you are right its been obsolete for a while now.
– rnaikzz
Feb 19 '16 at 21:20
Meaning? Absolutely agree on that account. Poor/emphasized choice of words? Definitely, the emphasis on a No can be important in some conversations, although a tad bit pointless - childish arguing with fluid rules for example. (English is expressive and a huge miasma, mess of rules and words from everywhere. This is why, even if being obsolete, the Of course no format can live on.)
– Sakatox
Feb 19 '16 at 21:24
"Of course not" is the normal negative form of "of course." You'd have to think hard and stretch the imagination to find a way to use "of course no." You could come up with something, but that would still not be the normal way of saying "of course" in the negative. No need to explain your context.
– Steven Littman
Feb 19 '16 at 22:02
Of course no usually pops up in conversations that ask about "Did you really say that? Have you seriously answered with no?" "Of course no!" I haven't seen it in usage in a very long while now.
– Sakatox
Feb 19 '16 at 21:16
Of course no usually pops up in conversations that ask about "Did you really say that? Have you seriously answered with no?" "Of course no!" I haven't seen it in usage in a very long while now.
– Sakatox
Feb 19 '16 at 21:16
I think "of course not" will still convey the same meaning here. The usage is all about convenience and you are right its been obsolete for a while now.
– rnaikzz
Feb 19 '16 at 21:20
I think "of course not" will still convey the same meaning here. The usage is all about convenience and you are right its been obsolete for a while now.
– rnaikzz
Feb 19 '16 at 21:20
Meaning? Absolutely agree on that account. Poor/emphasized choice of words? Definitely, the emphasis on a No can be important in some conversations, although a tad bit pointless - childish arguing with fluid rules for example. (English is expressive and a huge miasma, mess of rules and words from everywhere. This is why, even if being obsolete, the Of course no format can live on.)
– Sakatox
Feb 19 '16 at 21:24
Meaning? Absolutely agree on that account. Poor/emphasized choice of words? Definitely, the emphasis on a No can be important in some conversations, although a tad bit pointless - childish arguing with fluid rules for example. (English is expressive and a huge miasma, mess of rules and words from everywhere. This is why, even if being obsolete, the Of course no format can live on.)
– Sakatox
Feb 19 '16 at 21:24
"Of course not" is the normal negative form of "of course." You'd have to think hard and stretch the imagination to find a way to use "of course no." You could come up with something, but that would still not be the normal way of saying "of course" in the negative. No need to explain your context.
– Steven Littman
Feb 19 '16 at 22:02
"Of course not" is the normal negative form of "of course." You'd have to think hard and stretch the imagination to find a way to use "of course no." You could come up with something, but that would still not be the normal way of saying "of course" in the negative. No need to explain your context.
– Steven Littman
Feb 19 '16 at 22:02
add a comment |
"Of course no" cannot be used to express that your answer is clearly a "No". Perhaps we can consider the case of "True" (or "False") as an analogy? "True" would be a valid and complete answer to a question. Yet we would not say "Of course true". "True, of course" would be acceptable, and so is "No, of course".
However, both "No, of course" and "Of course no" combine a (potentially complete) affirmative answer and a (potentially complete) negative answer in the same sentence, which is quite disfluent. You may be able to avoid confusion by stressing either part in speech, but obviously not in writing.
answered Feb 20 '16 at 0:09
Benedict M.J.G.Benedict M.J.G.
664
add a comment |
"Of course no" cannot be used to express that your answer is clearly a "No". Perhaps we can consider the case of "True" (or "False") as an analogy? "True" would be a valid and complete answer to a question. Yet we would not say "Of course true". "True, of course" would be acceptable, and so is "No, of course".
However, both "No, of course" and "Of course no" combine a (potentially complete) affirmative answer and a (potentially complete) negative answer in the same sentence, which is quite disfluent. You may be able to avoid confusion by stressing either part in speech, but obviously not in writing.
answered Feb 20 '16 at 0:09
Benedict M.J.G.Benedict M.J.G.
664
add a comment |
"Of course no" cannot be used to express that your answer is clearly a "No". Perhaps we can consider the case of "True" (or "False") as an analogy? "True" would be a valid and complete answer to a question. Yet we would not say "Of course true". "True, of course" would be acceptable, and so is "No, of course".
However, both "No, of course" and "Of course no" combine a (potentially complete) affirmative answer and a (potentially complete) negative answer in the same sentence, which is quite disfluent. You may be able to avoid confusion by stressing either part in speech, but obviously not in writing.
answered Feb 20 '16 at 0:09
Benedict M.J.G.Benedict M.J.G.
664
"Of course no" cannot be used to express that your answer is clearly a "No". Perhaps we can consider the case of "True" (or "False") as an analogy? "True" would be a valid and complete answer to a question. Yet we would not say "Of course true". "True, of course" would be acceptable, and so is "No, of course".
However, both "No, of course" and "Of course no" combine a (potentially complete) affirmative answer and a (potentially complete) negative answer in the same sentence, which is quite disfluent. You may be able to avoid confusion by stressing either part in speech, but obviously not in writing.
answered Feb 20 '16 at 0:09
Benedict M.J.G.Benedict M.J.G.
664
answered Feb 20 '16 at 0:09
Benedict M.J.G.Benedict M.J.G.
664
answered Feb 20 '16 at 0:09
Benedict M.J.G.Benedict M.J.G.
664
answered Feb 20 '16 at 0:09
Benedict M.J.G.Benedict M.J.G.
664
664
add a comment |
add a comment |
'Of course no' could be considered correct, but awkward in normal everyday American English.
The most common, usual phrase is, 'Of course not.'
It implies 'clearly not', or 'obviously not.'
However, if you were to ask someone, "Did you mean to say no?" They could reply, "Of course, No!" This implies 'clearly I meant to say no.'
In Portuguese 'of course not' would be translated as 'Claro que nao,' meaning 'clearly no.' But when translated back to English it is 'Of course not.'
answered Sep 3 '18 at 23:31
RobbRobb
1
add a comment |
'Of course no' could be considered correct, but awkward in normal everyday American English.
The most common, usual phrase is, 'Of course not.'
It implies 'clearly not', or 'obviously not.'
However, if you were to ask someone, "Did you mean to say no?" They could reply, "Of course, No!" This implies 'clearly I meant to say no.'
In Portuguese 'of course not' would be translated as 'Claro que nao,' meaning 'clearly no.' But when translated back to English it is 'Of course not.'
answered Sep 3 '18 at 23:31
RobbRobb
1
add a comment |
'Of course no' could be considered correct, but awkward in normal everyday American English.
The most common, usual phrase is, 'Of course not.'
It implies 'clearly not', or 'obviously not.'
However, if you were to ask someone, "Did you mean to say no?" They could reply, "Of course, No!" This implies 'clearly I meant to say no.'
In Portuguese 'of course not' would be translated as 'Claro que nao,' meaning 'clearly no.' But when translated back to English it is 'Of course not.'
answered Sep 3 '18 at 23:31
RobbRobb
1
'Of course no' could be considered correct, but awkward in normal everyday American English.
The most common, usual phrase is, 'Of course not.'
It implies 'clearly not', or 'obviously not.'
However, if you were to ask someone, "Did you mean to say no?" They could reply, "Of course, No!" This implies 'clearly I meant to say no.'
In Portuguese 'of course not' would be translated as 'Claro que nao,' meaning 'clearly no.' But when translated back to English it is 'Of course not.'
answered Sep 3 '18 at 23:31
RobbRobb
1
answered Sep 3 '18 at 23:31
RobbRobb
1
answered Sep 3 '18 at 23:31
RobbRobb
1
answered Sep 3 '18 at 23:31
RobbRobb
1
1
add a comment |
add a comment |
Of course no one could ever come up with a way to use 'of course no' in a sentence.
Oh, wait.
answered 10 mins ago
E.D ScottE.D Scott
1
New contributor
E.D Scott is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
Of course no one could ever come up with a way to use 'of course no' in a sentence.
Oh, wait.
answered 10 mins ago
E.D ScottE.D Scott
1
New contributor
E.D Scott is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
Of course no one could ever come up with a way to use 'of course no' in a sentence.
Oh, wait.
answered 10 mins ago
E.D ScottE.D Scott
1
New contributor
E.D Scott is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Of course no one could ever come up with a way to use 'of course no' in a sentence.
Oh, wait.
answered 10 mins ago
E.D ScottE.D Scott
1
New contributor
E.D Scott is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 10 mins ago
E.D ScottE.D Scott
1
New contributor
E.D Scott is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 10 mins ago
E.D ScottE.D Scott
1
answered 10 mins ago
E.D ScottE.D Scott
1
1
New contributor
E.D Scott is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
E.D Scott is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
E.D Scott is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f308483%2fof-course-not-or-of-course-no%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
1
Of course no person would think that "Of course not" is the only possible response. In other words, we need more context to be able to answer- please edit your question and add details, especially what was the question your friend was responding to?
– cobaltduck
Feb 19 '16 at 21:05