We use 'all' to mean everything or everyone in a group. It shows no part is left out. It is often used with plural or uncountable nouns.
All the children play outside.
She ate all the cookies.
‘All’ can replace nouns and mean everything or everyone. It is used when we talk about the whole group without naming it.
All are welcome to join us.
All is ready for the party.
When ‘all’ is an adverb, it means ‘completely’ or ‘very’. It often describes feelings or conditions. It usually comes before adjectives or participles.
The house was all clean.
She was all tired after work.
Sometimes, ‘all’ is a noun meaning the whole group or amount as a single thing. This use is less common and often formal or poetic.
The all of the team agreed.
We considered the all before deciding.
'All' in idioms means doing something fully or with the best effort. Examples include ‘give it your all’ meaning try your best, or ‘all in’ meaning fully committed.
He gave it his all in the game.
She was all in for the project.
‘All’ can sometimes be used informally to mean ‘mostly’ or ‘generally’ about people or things. It suggests that in most cases a statement is true.
You are all ready, I assume.
They are all busy today.
‘All’ can be used before singular nouns with time or uncountable ideas to emphasize the total or complete amount. It shows that the entire period or thing is involved.
She read all day yesterday.
The wall was painted all blue.
