all
A1Universal
Definition
Meaning
Used to refer to the whole quantity, amount, duration, or extent of something; the entire group, every member.
Can express totality, completeness, exclusivity ('all that matters'), intensification ('all wet'), or completeness of an action ('all done').
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Functions as determiner, predeterminer, pronoun, quantifier, and adverb. Highly grammaticalized and ubiquitous. Implies no exceptions within the defined scope.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Minimal. Minor preferences: UK 'all the week' vs US 'all week'; UK 'all of the' slightly more formal; UK sport 'the match ended all square', US often 'the game ended all tied up'.
Connotations
Identical.
Frequency
Extremely high frequency in both dialects with negligible variation.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
all + (of) + determiner + noun (all (of) the people)be + all + adjective/noun (He was all smiles)all + subject pronoun + verb (They all left)object pronoun + all (I love them all)all + relative clause (all that I have)all + adverb/adverbial (all alone, all over the floor)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “all and sundry”
- “all in a day's work”
- “all bets are off”
- “all hell broke loose”
- “all thumbs”
- “for all I know”
- “in all honesty”
- “all things being equal”
- “all dressed up and nowhere to go”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
"All assets are under review." Used in totals, summaries, and inclusive statements.
Academic
"All participants completed the survey." Used for universal quantification in research.
Everyday
"Is that all?" "I ate it all." Ubiquitous for totality and completeness.
Technical
In logic/math: universal quantifier (∀). In computing: 'select all'.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- Used in phrasal verbs: The journey really **alled** me out.
- Let's **all** in for the final hand.
American English
- The team **alled** together after halftime.
- He **alled** up his courage.
adverb
British English
- The match ended **all** square.
- She was **all** alone on the platform.
American English
- I'm **all** done.
- She was **all**, "No way!"
adjective
British English
- She was **all** innocence when asked.
- The meeting was **all** talk and no action.
American English
- He's **all** talk.
- That kid is **all** energy.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- All children like sweets.
- I read all the book.
- We all live in a yellow submarine.
- Is that all?
- All of the students passed the exam.
- The food was gone in no time at all.
- He told me all about his trip.
- All things considered, it was a good day.
- For all his wealth, he was not happy.
- It was all I could do not to laugh.
- The theory is all very well, but impractical.
- All but one of the candidates withdrew.
- His argument was all smoke and mirrors.
- She was all sweetness and light during the interview.
- The deal is all but finalized.
- All told, the project took three years to complete.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a tall wall surrounding EVERYthing. ALL sounds like the 'wall' that contains everything inside.
Conceptual Metaphor
COMPLETENESS/WHOLE IS A CONTAINER ("all in the box"), INTENSITY IS COMPLETENESS ("all confused"), IMPORTANCE IS COMPLETENESS ("all that matters").
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Russian 'всё' can mean 'everything' but also 'still' or 'already', unlike 'all'.
- Avoid using 'all' directly with plural nouns without an article where Russian would (e.g., NOT 'all books' but 'all the books' or 'all books' only in general statements).
- Confusing 'all of us' vs 'we all' word order.
- Overusing 'all' for emphasis where it's unnatural (e.g., 'I all the time think' instead of 'I always think').
Common Mistakes
- *I like all music kinds. (Correct: I like all kinds of music.)
- *All they arrived. (Correct: They all arrived.)
- *She ate the all cake. (Correct: She ate all (of) the cake.)
- Confusing 'all' and 'every' in singular/plural agreement ('All student has...' is wrong).
Practice
Quiz
Which sentence uses 'all' as an adverb?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
'All' refers to the group as a whole (all students = the entire group). 'Every' emphasizes individual members within the group (every student = each one, separately). 'All' is used with plural nouns, 'every' with singular.
Not always. Use 'all of' before pronouns (all of them) and before determiners like 'the', 'my', 'these' (all of the people - 'all the people' is also correct). Before a noun with no determiner, don't use 'of' (all children).
It is completely neutral and used in all registers, from highly formal legal documents to casual speech.
This is a pronoun use where 'all' quantifies the subject. It can follow the subject pronoun ('They all') or come at the end of the clause ('I love them all').