"Would you like a slice of pizza?" "No, thanks." (And/or: "No, thank you," with the comma, is also correct.) Is a comma needed after "No" if you're kindly turning down someone's offer? But "no thanks" without the comma would indicate that something was thankless. "I received no thanks for all the hard work I did." Correct to both? Sincerely, Jake
How would you say it? Generally, I'd just say "No thanks" without a pause between the two words. If I wanted to make a point of being grateful for the offer, I might say "No, thankyou", with a bit of emphasis on the comma pause. In dialogue, you generally want to be as informal as people really are in dialogue, and if that involves grammatical errors - because that's how people really speak - so be it. However, you also don't want your dialogue to spell out every last little thing your characters say...you want to edit it down to relevant stuff. So, unless you're making a point about how polite the character is, you could probably ditch the dialogue: "More tea, vicar?" I asked, hovering the pot near his cup. "No, thankyou, my dear." The Reverend Peabody replied, covering his cup with his hand.
You are correct in both cases. You'd also write: "Yes, please." (Not "Yes please.") And you'd write: "I received no reward for all the hard work I did." No, I can't quote the rule. But I'm sure somebody else can!
"No, thanks." is two separate thoughts. No, I don't want pizza. But thank you for offering. No thanks is one thought: There was a lack of thanks. They're so different that I'd say that the fact that they use the same two words in the same order is essentially coincidence.
