Using all of or all


All and all of (with pronouns)

'All of' should only be used with words like us, you, it, him and her (i.e., pronouns).

Using All and All Of

There is often confusion over 'all' and 'all of'. 'All of' should only be used when the next word is a pronoun (e.g., us, you, it, him, her).

Examples:

All of us...

All of you...

All of it...

Do not use 'all of' for normal nouns - just use 'all'.

Examples:

All the soldiers...

All the nurses...

I need all of the chairs.

(The word 'chairs' is not a pronoun.)

All of the divers returned safely.

EITHER NOWADAYS

The rule shown to the left is considered by many to be outdated. Nowadays, it is acceptable to use whichever you think sounds best.

Don't eat all the cake.

Don't eat all of the cake.