all
- 01 A1 Beginner
det.every person or thing in a group, with no one or nothing left out.
det.denoting the entire number or amount of a group or class; functions as a predeterminer before articles or possessives.
Simple“All the students in the class passed the final exam.”
In context“All the evidence gathered by the investigators suggests that the fire was started by a faulty electrical circuit in the basement.”
UsageUsed before plural countable nouns or uncountable nouns.
PitfallAll the people was happy. All the people were happy.When 'all' refers to a plural noun, the verb must also be plural.
- 02 A1 Beginner
det.during the whole time of a specific period.
det.referring to the entire duration of a stated period, typically used with units of time like day, week, or year.
Simple“It rained all day, so we stayed inside and watched movies.”
In context“The team worked all night to ensure the software update was ready for the morning launch.”
UsageUsually placed before the time noun without an article, such as 'all day' or 'all night'.
Synonymsthroughoutthe entire - 03 A1 Beginner
pron.everyone in a group or everything that exists in a situation.
pron.representing the whole number of people or things previously mentioned or understood from context.
Simple“The cake was delicious, and soon it was all gone.”
In context“Although many were invited to the gala, all were required to present their credentials at the main entrance.”
UsageCan be followed by 'of' before pronouns, like 'all of us'.
Synonyms - 04 B1 Intermediate
pron.the only thing that is important or the only thing someone wants.
pron.used to specify the sole requirement, action, or object in a given context.
Simple“All I want for my birthday is a new pair of running shoes.”
In context“All the manager asked for was a brief summary of the weekly sales figures before the board meeting began.”
UsageOften used as the subject of a sentence followed by 'is' or 'was'.
Synonyms - 05 B1 Intermediate
adv.completely or totally.
adv.functioning as an intensifier meaning wholly or entirely.
Simple“He was all alone in the big house after his roommates left.”
In context“The children were all excited about the trip, their faces pressed against the bus windows as they departed.”
UsageOften used before adjectives or prepositions.
SynonymsAntonyms - 06 B1 Intermediate
adv.used in sports to say that both teams or players have the same score.
adv.denoting an equal score for each side in a game or competition.
Simple“At halftime, the score was two-all.”
In context“The match concluded at three-all, forcing the teams into a penalty shootout to determine the winner of the trophy.”
UsagePlaced after the number of the score.
- 07 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.everything you are able to do; your greatest effort.
n.the totality of one's strength, resources, or abilities applied to a task.
Simple“She gave her all during the race and finished in first place.”
In context“The athletes were exhausted after the marathon, having given their all on the challenging uphill course.”
UsageCommonly used in the phrase 'to give one's all'.
all vs whole — All focuses on the total number of individual items, while whole focuses on the entirety of a single unit.
From Middle English all, from Old English eall, from Proto-West Germanic all, from Proto-Germanic allaz, of uncertain origin but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- (“all”). Cognates Cognate with Scots a, a', aa, aal, aw (“all”), Yola aal, al, all, aul (“all”), North Frisian aal, aale, ale, ali, åle (“all”), Saterland Frisian al (“already”), aal (“all”), West Frisian alle (“all”), Dutch al (“all”), German and Luxembourgish all (“all”), Vilamovian oły, ołły (“all”), Yiddish אַלע (ale, “all”), Danish al (“all”), Faroese and Icelandic allur (“all”), Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish all (“all”), Norwegian Nynorsk aillj, all (“all”), Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌻𐍃 (alls, “all”); also Breton and Welsh holl (“all”), Cornish oll (“all”), Irish alig, eile, uile, uileag, uilig (“all”), Manx ooilley (“all”), Scottish Gaelic uile, uileag (“all”), Lithuanian aliái (“every”), Armenian ողջ (oġǰ, “entire, whole”). The dialectal sense “all gone” is a calque of German alle. The use in [Term?] (“who all, where all”) etc. also has equivalents in German (see alles).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
For Mandarin speakers Mandarin has no lateral liquid /l/ in syllable-final positions, so speakers often substitute it with a rounded vowel /o/ or /u/, pronouncing 'all' as /ɔo/.
Mandarin uses 都 (dōu) as a universal quantifier that must follow the subject. Learners often misplace 'all' after the subject (e.g., 'They all are here') because 都 (dōu) functions as an adverb, not a determiner, in the L1 structure.
The Mandarin word 都 (dōu) is used for both 'all' and 'both'. Learners may use 'all' when referring to only two items, as the L1 does not grammatically distinguish dual from plural sets in this context.
For Japanese speakers The Japanese vowel system lacks a direct equivalent to the open-mid back rounded vowel /ɔː/. Speakers typically substitute the mid-back vowel /o/, and since Japanese phonology prohibits terminal /l/ without a following vowel, it is realized as the moraic syllable /ɾɯ/, resulting in the pronunciation /oːɾɯ/ (オール).
Japanese marks plurality through context rather than noun morphology, which leads to the omission of plural suffixes in 'all + [noun]' structures. Consequently, learners may produce 'all student' instead of 'all students' due to the lack of an equivalent to the English number agreement system.
Japanese uses the quantifier 'zenbu' (全部) or 'subete' (全て) adverbially or with the particle 'no', often resulting in the over-application of 'all of' in contexts where a simple determiner is required, or placing 'all' incorrectly after the noun to mirror Japanese syntax.