No longer, any longer, and anymore
Learn how to talk about things that have stopped happening.
- check_circleI can talk about actions that stopped happening in the present.
- check_circleI can use no longer, any longer, and anymore correctly.
Discover
Meet today's English in a real situation — no rules yet. Read it once and try to guess the pattern in the words in bold. Underlined words open a short definition.
Anna: Hi Mark! Do you still play tennis on weekends?
Mark: No, I don’t play tennis anymore. I suffer from a bad knee, so I no longer do high-impact sports.
Anna: Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Do you go to the same gym?
Mark: I don’t go there any longer. It got too expensive. I decided to cancel my membership. Now I just swim at the local pool.
Anna: That’s a good idea! Swimming is great. Do you ever see Sarah there?
Mark: No, she no longer lives in this city. She got a new job and had to relocate last month.
Learn
Now the rules behind what you just saw — explained simply, with examples. Underlined words open a short definition — hover on desktop, tap on a phone.
We use no longer, not … any longer, and not … anymore to talk about a situation that was true in the past but is not true now.
Position and Meaning
They all mean the same thing, but their position in the sentence is different.
No longer comes in the middle of the sentence, usually before the main verb, but after the verb to be.
He no longer lives here. (He used to live here, but not now.) She is no longer the manager.
Not … anymore and not … any longer go at the end of the sentence. They need a negative verb (using don’t, doesn’t, isn’t, etc.).
He doesn’t live here anymore. They don’t work here any longer.
Do not use anymore or any longer without a negative verb.
Incorrect: He lives here anymore.
Correct: He doesn’t live here anymore.
Anymore and any longer are more common in everyday spoken English. No longer sounds a bit more formal.
Vocabulary in Context
Sometimes, changes in our lives mean we quit bad habits or move on to new things. When people retire, they no longer work every day.
- no longer: middle of the sentence, positive verb. (He no longer smokes.)
- not … anymore: end of the sentence, negative verb. (He doesn’t smoke anymore.)
- not … any longer: end of the sentence, negative verb. (He doesn’t smoke any longer.)
Practice
Try it yourself. You'll see right away whether you got it right, plus a short explanation of why.
Use It
Now make the language yours in a real task. Use the prompt below — the editor keeps a simple word count, and nothing is saved or graded.
Before you finish — be honest. Can you do these now?