How to use “all”, “all the”, and “all of the.”

The usage of all, all the, and all of the can be quite confusing. In this short post I will explain the difference and give you examples. Please complete the quiz at the bottom of the page to check if you remember the information and can use the forms successfully.

All means ‘every one’.

You can use it before a countable noun or an uncountable noun.

It is often used as a determiner (a word placed in front of a noun to specify quantity.)

All my siblings live overseas.

All the stores in our town were closed yesterday.

All teachers make mistakes.

All with no article.

When all refers to a whole class of people or things, don’t use the:

All children are different. (=every child in the world) Not: All the children are different.

All students need to study regularly to improve their skills.

Don’t use the with time expressions such as all day, all night, all week, all summer:

We spent all day writing emails to our supervisor.

The noise kept me up all night.

All of/All of the

Use all of before specific nouns, personal pronouns (us, them), demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those) and relative pronouns (whom, which).

I need to discuss this issue with all of you today.

Mary brought candies for all of us.

With this, that, these, those, the, and possessives (my, his, their, etc.), you can say all of or all without of:

All (of) the students in my class failed the grammar test.

I gave all (of) my old toys to my younger brother when I went to high school.

What should I do with all (of) this paper?

All without of

Use all, not all of, before indefinite plural nouns referring to a whole class of people or things:

All dogs love meat. Not: All of dogs love meat.

Use all, not all of, before uncountable nouns:

All junk food is bad for you. Not: All of junk food is bad for you.

NOTE that we don’t usually say all people, instead say everyone or everybody.

Everybody wants to be successful in life. Not: All people want to be successful in life.

All with personal pronouns

When all refers to object pronouns (us, them), use pronoun + all or all of + pronoun.

I had three grammar books but somehow I’ve lost them all. (or … I’ve lost all of them).

Use only all of in short answers.

A: How many of these cookies are you going to eat?

B: All of them. Not: Them all.

Use all of with the object pronoun, even when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence:

All of us are hoping for good news.