She had to do no work

[hirashin]

Dear native English speakers
Which would be used?
(a) She had no work to do.
(b) She had to do no work
(c) She didn't have any work to do.
(d) She didn't have to do any work.

Thanks in advance.
Hirashin

 

[lanthas]

All are fine, but the nuance is different: (a) and (c) emphasize 暇 (she's sitting at her desk twiddling her thumbs) while (b) and (d) emphasize 免れた (no work was assigned to her).

 

[Julie.chan]

B is a weird construction that I would take to mean that someone is required to not work (unless I understood from context that it was a non-native speaker saying that). Or in other words, I take it to mean the same thing as, "She is not allowed to do work." In any case, B isn't something I would use.

 

[mdchachi]

They are all fine. Some difference in nuance as others said. Lanthas added an advanced phrase to his reply. In case you're not familiar with it:
twiddle one's thumbs
1. 両手の指を組んで親指同士をくるくる回す
2. 〔暇なので〕のんびりしている

 

[johnnyG]

If a student gave me B, I'd suggest re-writing it as C or D.

B is grammatical, but it seems stilted, and is certainly not common. I don't think B would appear in TOEIC/TOEFL (in text, innocently), and also I'd claim that it would never be tested.

 

[hirashin]

Thanks for your help, lanthas, Julimaruchan, mdchachi, and johnnyG.

If a student gave me B, I'd suggest re-writing it as C or D.

OK. I will be careful not to use that kind of sentences.