Should there be a comma after "no" in "no thank you"?
Should there be a comma after "no" in "no thank you"?
Would you like some coffee?
No thank you.
Solution 1:
I see there are two comments and I read them as being somewhat contradictory. Therefore I'll give an answer. If we are reporting dialog then there are several options, here are three.
"No thank you."
"No, thank you."
"No. Thank you."
The first, as indicated by WS2, is an idiom and is spoken smoothly without a pause.
The second indicates a minor pause.
The third indicates a more pronounced pause with the 'Thank you' possibly coming as an afterthought.
Solution 2:
I think there's also another less used version of "No, thank you" where the meaning is basically, "You shouldn't be thanking me, I should be thanking you". For example, in the conversation below Ted is basically saying that he should be thanking Bill, not the other way around. I think this version of "No, thank you" should use a comma.
Bill: "Thank you for driving me to the airport."
Ted: "No, thank you. I needed an excuse to get out of helping my dad move furniture all day."
Solution 3:
Six answers so far and no reference to a dictionary...
no, thank you and no, thanks
a phrase used to decline something. Bob: Would you care for some more coffee? Mary: No, thank you. John: Do you want to go downtown tonight? Jane: No, thanks.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
thank you
2.a. used with ‘no’ for politely refusing something that is offered to you
‘Another glass of wine?’ ‘No, thank you.’
Macmillan Dictionary
Solution 4:
In written form I personally would use the comma, even if it is commonly pronounced as though there were no comma. I like to set the No off from the rest of the utterance, to distinguish from sentences like this one:
No thank-you letter ever arrived.
But as you can tell from the variety of answers you've received, you might as well toss a coin.