by R. S. Karunaratne

Grammar patterns of 'All'

The word 'all' is a determiner meaning the complete amount or quantity of something.

'All' is used with plural or uncountable nouns.

All men are mortal.

She has done all her homework.

All fish is rotten.

All the girls participated in the concert.

All kinds of people travel by bus.

'All' is used to say something about people or things viewed as a group or set.

All the items for sale are half price.

The interview board rejected all the applications.

We are going to polish all the furniture.

All the old boys attended the party.

All the books were sold out.

'All' is used to say something about one thing in its entirely.

I couldn't read all the book.

Grandfather read all the newspaper.

All my body is aching.

Why didn't you eat all your lunch?

'All' can be used to include every person.

Can all of us go in this car?

Father has brought gifts for all of us.

'All' is used to emphasize that everyone or everything is included.

They all lived in a caravan!

The beggars all stood in a quare to receive food.

The trip was exciting; I enjoyed it all.

'All' can be used to indicate that only one thing exists or necessary.

All I need is money.

All you want can be found there.

'All' is used to emphasize completeness.

She sat all alone on the beach.

Tell me all about your trip to India.

'All' can be used with certain time expressions.

The old woman wept all day.

We kept vigil all night.

The students cleaned the classroom all morning.

We never have rain all year round.

Shakespeare was the greatest dramatist of all time.

'All' is used in set phrases.

Are you angry with me?

Not at all.

Could I use your phone?

By all means.

All in all, it was a good film.

All of a sudden, somebody snatched my bag.

For all your faults, I still like you.

First of all, let me introduce the cast.

It rained all the time we were in Kandy.

She was all smiles when I saw her.

It doesn't sound all that good.

I met my old friend yesterday, but that's all over now.

You can buy anything you want, it's all the same to me.

Brush up your English

English, like any other subject, has to be studied and practised from time to time in order to use it effectively.

Study the following words and phrases and try to use them in your speech and writing.

* Beside / Besides

'Beside' is a preposition that means at the side of somebody or something.

She always sits beside her sister.

'Besides' is a preposition that means in addition to somebody or something.

Besides meals, the pilgrims carried bottles of water.

* Past / Passed

'Past' can be used as a noun, adjective, preposition or adverb.

They always think of their prosperous past. (Noun)

The past month has been a difficult one for her. (Adjective)

It was past midnight when we returned home. (Preposition)

Sena walked past her. (Adverb)

'Passed' is the past tense of 'pass'.

Menu passed the exam with flying colours.

* All right / Alright

'All right' means as desired or satisfactory.

Are you all right in your new job?

'Alright' is informal and non-standard.

* Reason

'Reason' is usually followed by 'that' not 'because'.

I did not accept the offer of employment for the simple reason that the salary was low.

[Spelling rules]

Rule

When we add 'ing' to some verbs we double the last letter.

• Sanath was batting when it started to rain.
• William is good at chipping wood.
• A small crowd of spectators started clapping the performers.
• Two men were arrested for cutting down a jak tree.
  The company is trying to reduce the running costs.

Starters:

Use action words

The English language is rich in words. As it borrows words from other languages such as Latin, Greek, French and German, English has a large vocabulary running into about 500,000 words.

When you use action words your writing becomes readable and interesting. Look at the following sentences and try to replace the underlined words with action words.

. Joe loves to play the violin, and Rani goes to her lessons every Sunday.

. The robbers found a box full of jewellery.

. They opened the box and looked at the jewellery.

. One robber put some gold bangles in his pocket.

. The robbers then talked about what to do with the jewellery.

. Then they hid the box of jewellery in a bush.

. The robbers went towards the jeep.

Let's put some action words now.

. Joe loves to play the violin, and Rani rushed to her lessons every Sunday.

. The robbers discovered a box full of jewellery.

. They opened the box and gazed at the jewellery.

. One robber sneaked some gold bangles and put them in his pocket.

. The robbers then discussed what to do with the jewellery.

. Then they concealed the box of jewellery in a bush.

. The robbers rushed towards the jeep.

You will find that the action words add colour to the sentences.

Activity

Improve the following sentences by replacing the underlined words with action words.

1. At the library, students read many things about dinosaurs.

2. Firefighters use chemicals to put out a fire.

3. Policemen went to control the mob.

4. He saved a drowning man.

5. Once we saw water coming out of a big tank.