Page 139 - Advanced English Grammar in Use

A l l ( o f ) , t h e w h o l e ( o f ) , b o t h ( o f )

All and all o
f

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 (see also Unit 69):
• All (of) my brothers and sisters were at the airport to see me off.
• The baby seems to cry all (of) the time.
To make negative sentences with all we normally use not all, particularly in a formal style:
• Not all the seats were taken, (rather than All the seats were not taken.)
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 was there)

Notice where we put all in the following sentences (see also Unit 90):
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 all are... - except in informal spoken English)
I planted all four (of the) trees when I moved into the house.

In modern English we don't use all without a noun to mean 'everyone' or 'everything':
• Everyone was waiting to hear the results, (not All were waiting...)
All can mean 'everything' when it is followed by a relative clause:
• I don't agree with all that he said. (= everything that he said)
We can also use all without a noun to mean 'the only thing':
• All she wants to do is help.
All (of) the and the whole (of)
Before singular countable nouns we usually use the whole (of) rather than all (of) the:
• 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.)
However, in informal speech all (of) the is sometimes used in this way.
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)

Both (of) and all (of)
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 the following with sentences in B:
I • • Both (of) the houses have now been sold.
(or Are you both) going to the conference?
Are both of you
• 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...)
We don't usually make negative sentences with both (of). Instead we can use neither (of):
• Neither of them knew the answer, (rather than Both of them didn't know the answer.)
However, in informal speech both (of) is sometimes used in this way.
t
Everyone All and every = All (of) and boh (of):
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