Which sentence would you rather use?

I don’t have a candle.
I have no candle.

Just met a guy who claims that the second option is way more commonly used and is more convenient than the first one. Not sure what to think 🤔

Question

Which sentence would you rather use?

I don’t have a candle.
I have no candle.

Just met a guy who claims that the second option is way more commonly used and is more convenient than the first one. Not sure what to think 🤔

Answer

Personally, I'd say 'I haven't got a candle' but, of those two, I'd say 'I don't have a candle'.

Answer

"I don't have a candle" is the option you want to use.

Answer

I don't have a candle.

Answer

Modern grammar books, such as Practical English Usage by Swan (3rd ed. 1995), give "have not" as older British usage and "don't have" as modern British and American usage (see Swan, section 237 : have (4), subsection 3 : questions and negatives, page 207).

Google n-grams shows that "I haven't/I have no" was dominant in print for the last two hundred years, but that currently "I don't" has equal usage.

I am North American. "I don't have" is nearly universal. I have had British friends and coworkers who used "I have no."