English Reference

00 / Grammar and structure

all vs whole

All focuses on the total number of individual items, while whole focuses on the entirety of a single unit.

01 / Side by side

  • all

    the total amount or every individual

    All the students passed the final exam with high marks.

  • whole

    one complete thing from start to finish

    The child ate the whole apple, including the seeds.

02 / Watch out

  • Wrong: The whole employees attended the mandatory safety meeting.Right: All the employees attended the mandatory safety meeting.

  • Wrong: I read the all book in just two hours.Right: I read the whole book in just two hours.

03 / Remember

All for plural; whole for singular.

04 / Quick check

Fill the gap with one of the two options.

  1. 1.

    Almost participants in the group chat agreed to move the video call to a later time today.

  2. 2.

    The runner felt a massive sense of relief after completing the marathon without stopping for a break.

  3. 3.

    I spent the weekend bingeing a new sci-fi series instead of finishing my remote work tasks.

  4. 4.

    We spent the day walking around the historic district.

  5. 5.

    She spent her money on a new laptop last weekend.

05 / More like this

All Grammar and structure sets →