Comments on: Is there a preferred time to use "nobody" versus "no one?"

Question: Is there a preferred time to use "nobody" versus "no one?"

davebug — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 08:58:27 -0800

[Grammar] Is there a preferred time to use "nobody" versus "no one?"

By: naomi

naomi — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 09:08:43 -0800

In general, nobody is informal and no one is formal.

By: Tacodog

Tacodog — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 09:28:11 -0800

Thank you for not typing "noone." I 'loose' my mind when I see that.

By: ParisParamus

ParisParamus — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 09:57:56 -0800

Nobody loves me.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 10:14:33 -0800

Isn't it also that "nobody" is more often referring to a group? And "no one" an individual?

Nobody knew where she had been.

No one answered when he asked where she was.

By: shepd

shepd — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 10:25:08 -0800

dictionary.com says no one means nobody. I think they're interchangeable.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 10:30:19 -0800

Is there a preferred time

When you need 3 syllables for a song/poem?

By: ParisParamus

ParisParamus — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 10:40:27 -0800

Chorus:
I ain't got nobody, nobody, cares for me,
Nobody, nobody, cares for me.
I'm so sad and lonely, sad and lonely, sad and lonely
Won't some sweet mama come and take a chance with me?
Cause I ain't so bad.

By: naomi

naomi — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 11:03:30 -0800

To clarify, nobody and no one do have the same meaning. But you will typically find that "no one" is considered to be more correct in formal writing, while "nobody" is used more often in conversation and song lyrics.

An unstated corollary is that the word "ain't" must be used in conjunction with "nobody" whenever possible. Use of "ain't" with "no one" is still a hanging offense in most southern states.

By: handful of rain

handful of rain — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 11:15:55 -0800

dictionary.com says no one means nobody. I think they're interchangeable.

My AP Stylebook seems to say the same thing!

By: naomi

naomi — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 11:50:22 -0800

Stylebooks do not include the unwritten rules of grammar. Maybe "rules" is the wrong word -- widespread assumptions? Anyway, here's an interesting linguistic analysis.

By: occhiblu

occhiblu — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 13:15:37 -0800

I had a friend's mother once tell me that nobody used "nobody" until the 60s, when the idea of a floating consciousness separate from one's body was breaking down. She somehow tied this into the Vietnam War. But as may already be evident, she was a bit of a hippie freak, so...

I do think, however, that an older generation would see "nobody" as extremely informal, while today's 20-somethings (myself included) would see not much difference between "nobody" and "no one."

By: amberglow

amberglow — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 17:28:07 -0800

I had a friend's mother once tell me that nobody used "nobody" until the 60s,...

hmmm...I would have preferred "no one used "nobody" until..." in that sentence. : >

By: jb

jb — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 20:56:17 -0800

I think it's a bit older than the 1960s - the OED has quotes from 1400 on, and notes that "nobody" was "Freq. written as two words from the 14th to the 18th centuries, and with hyphen in the 17th and 18th".

Quotes for "no one" date from 1538 forward.

Interestingly enough, "nobody" has several definitions in the OED (such as saying "I am a nobody"), noting different ways it is used, while "no one" only has one definition. This would suggest to me that "nobody" has always been more frequently used in idiom.

By: SoftRain

SoftRain — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 23:37:16 -0800

"Anybody. In the sense of 'any person,' not to be written as two words. Any body means 'any corpse,' or 'any human form,' or 'any group.' The rule holds equally for everybody, nobody, and somebody.

Anyone. In the sense of 'anybody' written as one word. Any one means 'any single person' or 'any single thing.'"

From The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White, 4th ed. p. 41.

If the rule follows anybody and anyone, nobody and no one are the same, but no one can presumably also refer to "any single person" or "any single thing."

By: languagehat

languagehat — Tue, 23 Nov 2004 08:16:33 -0800

Please, not The Elements of Style -- it's an enjoyable book, but it's just E.B. White's personal crotchets, with no standing as a reference work or an authority on the English language. I'd say naomi has it right.