The answer choices for this type of item are four negative expressions, such as the ones listed below:
| Negative Word | Use | Meaning | Example |
| no | adjective | not any | There was no milk in the refrigerator. |
| none | pronoun | not one | They took a lot of pictures, but almost none of them turned out. |
| nothing | pronoun | not anything | There was nothing in his briefcase. |
| no one | pronoun | not anyone | No one arrived at the meeting on time. |
| nor | conjunction | and . . . not | He’s never been fishing, nor does he plan to go. |
| without | preposition | not having | She likes her coffee without milk or sugar. |
| never | adverb | at no time | I’ve never been to Alaska. |
The negative word not is used to make almost any kind of word or phrase negative: verbs, prepositional phrases, infinitives, adjectives, and so on.
Both no and not can be used before nouns, depending on meaning.
There is no coffee in the pot. (It’s empty.)
This is not coffee. (It’s tea.)
The adjective no is also used before the word longer to mean “not anymore.”
I no longer read the afternoon paper
∇ Sample Item
There is almost ________________ vegetation in the Badlands, a barren region of South Dakota.
(A) not
(B) nor
(C) none
(D) no
Choices (A), (B), and (C) cannot be used before nouns as adjectives. Therefore, the correct answer is (D).
By the way, probably the most common correct answer for this type of problem is the adjective no.