Question

All or whole? Easily confused words

Accepted Answer

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/all-or-whole All and whole are determiners.We use them before nouns and with other determiners to refer to a total number or complete set of things in a group.CompareAll the cast had food poisoning. They were forced to cancel the show.all + determiner + nounThe whole cast had food poisoning. They were forced to cancel the show.determiner + whole + nounAll my family lives abroad. or My whole family lives abroad.We often use all and the whole with of the:She complains all of the time. or She complains the whole of the time.We use a/an with whole but not with all:I spent a whole day looking for that book and eventually found it in a little old bookshop on the edge of town.Not: … all a day … All or whole for single entitiesWe use the whole or the whole of to refer to complete single things and events that are countable and defined:The whole performance was disappointing from start to finish. (or The whole of the performance was disappointing …)When we can split up a thing into parts, we can use either whole or all with the same meaning:You don’t have to pay the whole (of the) bill at once.You don’t have to pay all (of) the bill at once.She ate the whole orange.She ate all of the orange.We often use the whole of with periods of time to emphasise duration:We spent the whole (of the) summer at the beach. All the with uncountable nounsWe use all the and not the whole with uncountable nouns:She was given all the advice she needed.Not: She was given the whole advice …All the equipment is supplied. All and whole with plural nounsWe usually use all the and all of the with plural nouns:It’s funny when all the actors come in dressed up in their costumes.She opens all the cupboard doors and doesn’t close them after her.You have to try all of the activities.When we use whole with plural nouns, it means ‘complete’ or ‘entire’.CompareWhole families normally shared one room in the nineteenth century.entire familiesAll families normally shared one bedroom in the nineteenth century.each and every family All and whole: typical errorsWe don’t use all before a and an:She ate a whole bar of chocolate in one go.Not: She ate all a bar …We can’t omit the before whole with a singular noun:We travelled throughout the whole country.Not: … throughout whole country.

Ate Nouns Family Don’t Plural Refer Complete Things

All or whole for single entities

All the with uncountable nouns

All and whole with plural nouns

All and whole: typical errors