Words That Confuse

I got the Examples from the following sites:
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/grammar/nonot.html

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/page/266

.

To me, English as a Second Language, I find many words confusing. Many words sound similar or their usage seems similar. So sometimes it gets really confusing which word to use, when to use it or when not to use it.

Today I will describe the use of No and Not.

NO	NOT
No answers a yes/no question. "No, the president wasn't surprised by the results of the election."	Not makes a verb negative. They do not want to proceed with the experimental study.
No precedes a noun that has no article. The company had no worthy rivals in the industry.	Not precedes a noun that has an article. The virus is not the source of the outbreak.
No can be used before a noun that is preceded by an adjective, as in the preceding example, but it is not used before any, much, many, or enough. Jim has no argument with which to continue the discussion. The manager had no reason to support his request for a raise.	Not precedes any, much, many, or enough. Not many amateur astronomers can afford the equipment necessary to study the nova. There is not much budget left for another trial.

Caution: No and not are never used in the same sentence.

Incorrect	Correct
The politician did not have no time left for in-depth research.	The politician had no time left for in-depth research.
The planner no has any time today to go over your suggestions.	The planner does not have any time today to go over your suggestions.
The doctor not has a minute to lose for a successful operation.	The doctor does not have a minute to lose for a successful operation.

Story In a Box

Jack’s grandfather died few years back. Before he died he told Jack to collect his traditional collection box from his friend who stays in the south of Minnesota. He told him they were very valuable antique collection that took him twenty years to collect. One fine morning, Jack along with his cousin Ted started their journey to the south to meet their grandfather’s friend. After travelling for more than three hours they reached Winona, a city almost near the Minnesota and Wisconsin border.

As they reached their grandpa’s friend it was almost noon. They found that the old man was watering the flowers in the front yard. The old man greeted them with a smile and told them he has many stories to share with the two young men and led them inside his house. As they entered the house they saw statues and wooden sculptures all over the house. There were skulls and skin of some rear wild animals.

As they sat on the sofa the old man brought a box and opened it in front of them. The old man told them the box contains all the items he borrowed from his grandfather. The old man started taking them one by one and was counting them. He took out twelve items exactly. He told them the total values of the antiques were no less than few thousand dollars. Jack was amazed when he heard that how the old and unused-for-decades items were so valuable and got interested to know how his grandfather got them.

The old man continued; he told the boys that every item is a souvenir and has a cultural significance attached with it. Then he started describing all the items one by one. He started with a velvet blanket. He told them that their grandfather often used to go to China and stay there for few months. There he got the soft and silky handmade blanket from a Chinese village fair. Then he also showed them a hundred year old Chinese stamp that he bought from an auction. The stamp had a granite handle engraved with Chinese writings. Then he pointed at a black statue that their grandfather got from an Egyptian auction. The stone figure was few hundred years old and resembled an ancient Egyptian lady. Then he showed them a rare wallet made from crocodile skin and engraved with nice design of a tree and an elephant. Then he showed them a wooden ruler that his grandfather used in his first grade. The wooden ruler had a paper cutting blade at the side. Then the old man showed them some of the items he collected from his Europe tour decades back. There was a medieval village artifact and a stone craved face with blue eyes and red lips and a glass vessel. Then the old man took a deep breath and pointed at a wooden figure of a drummer that they got when they went to Peru along with their other college friends. The he showed them a canoe, a plate and some chestnuts painted shiny brown and told them they were used by the American Indians centuries back and it’s very rare to see them now.

The old man started putting back the items inside the box and closed the lid. Taking a deep breath he handed them the box and told them to take good care of the box and the items inside it. Jack and Ted were extremely happy to get back their grandfather’s antique collection and felt inspired to travel and know the world in great details.

Inventory of the box items

1. Velvet blanket – floral design

2. Canoe – American Indian crafted with feather inside and coarse oak finish.

3. Wooden Ruler

4. American Indian Plate with floral design

5. Leather wallet with engraved animal photos

6. Wooden figure of a drummer with neck scarf and sandal

7. Statue of an African woman

8. Chest nuts colored black

9. Head of an woman with blue eyes and red lips

10. Stone name stamp with Chinese writing

11. Miniature medieval village

12. Glass vessel with cork