We use all or all of when we are talking about the total number of things or people in a group, or the total amount of something.
Example:
- All (of) my brothers and sisters were at the airport to see me off.
- The baby seems to cry all (of) the time.
NOTE:
Ø To make negative sentences with all we normally use not all, particularly in a formal style,.
Example: Not all the seats were taken. (rather than All the seats were not taken)
Ø However, in spoken English we sometimes use all…not. We can also use none (of). But notice that not all and none (of) have a different meaning.
Compare:
- Not all my cousins were at the wedding. (= some of them were there) and
- None of my cousins were at the wedding. (= not one of them were there)
POSITION OF ALL
Ø Notice where we should put all in the following sentences in order to make those sentences meaningful or more accurate.
Example:
- We are all going to Athens during the vacation. (rather than We all are going…)
- They have all heard the news already. (rather than They all have heard…)
- All (of) their hard work had been of no use. (not Their all hard work…)
- These are all confidential files. (not These are all…)
Ø In modern English we don’t use all without a noun or mean ‘everyone’ or ‘everything’
Example:
- Everyone was waiting to hear the results. (not All were waiting…)
- I don’t agree with all that he said. (= everything that he said)
Ø We can also use all without a noun to mean ‘the only thing.’
Example: All she wants to do is help.
2). ALL (OF) THE AND THE WHOLE (OF)
Ø Before singular countable nouns we usually use the whole (of) rather than all (of) the.
Example:
- They weren’t able to stay for the whole concert. (rather than …all (of) the concert.)
- The whole of the field was flooded. (rather than All (of) the field was flooded.)
NOTE: However, in informal speech all (of) the is sometimes used in this way.
Ø Before plural nouns we can use all (of) or whole, but they have different meanings.
Compare:
- All (of the) towns had their electricity cut off. (= every town in an area) and
- After the storm, whole towns were left without electricity. (= some towns were completely affected)
3). BOTH (OF) AND ALL (OF)
Ø We use both (of) when we want to talk about two things together. Both (of) and all (of) are used in the same places in sentences.
Compare:
- Both (of) the houses have now been sold.
- Are both of you (or Are you both) going to the conference?
- I went on holiday with both of them (or …with them both…) last year.
- They have both finished their dinner. (rather than They both have finished…)
NOTE: We don’t usually use negative sentences with both (of). Instead we can use neither (of).
Example: Neither of them knew the answer. (rather than Both of them didn’t know the answer.)
v However, in informal speech both (of) is sometimes used in this way.
Ø
