At all: How and When to Use in English

Quick and simple lesson to help you understand grammar better.
Test your English and learn even more with Gymglish.

TEST YOUR ENGLISH Free trial and no commitment to buy
4,7 on App Store, Play Store and Trustpilot More than 8 million learners worldwide

At all

At all means 'in any way' or 'of any type':
Is Bob helpful at all? Does Bob help in any way?
Can I help you at all? Can I help you somehow?
Do you play golf at all? Do you play golf sometimes?
In negative sentences, this corresponds to 'not in any way' or 'absolutely not':
Do you smoke? Not at all. Do you smoke? Absolutely not!
Here are some of the most common uses:
Anything at all Absolutely anything.
Anybody at all Anyone, it doesn't matter who.
Anywhere at all In any place whatsoever.
Exercise 1
Kevin: After seeing our revenues for the last three quarters, I can't see any reason why Delavigne can't become the number one cosmetics company in the world.
Luna: Delavigne is a cosmetics company? this time, I thought we sold toys.
Kevin: After seeing our revenues for the last three quarters, I can't see any reason at all 1 why Delavigne can't become the number one cosmetics company in the world.
Luna: Delavigne is a cosmetics company? All 2 this time, I thought we sold toys.
1 at all: 'At all' is used to add emphasis in constructions such as this one. Here, it expresses that Kevin thinks that Delavigne has a great chance to become the number one cosmetics company in the world.
1 all: 'All' cannot be used in this particular construction, it is grammatically incorrect and makes no sense
1 at: 'At' is primarily used as a preposition of place or in certain idioms. We cannot use it in this construction.
2 All: 'All' is the correct choice here. 'All this time' is a common English idiom which expresses an extended period of time.
2 At all: 'At all' cannot be used here. 'At all' is used to add emphasis in certain constructions. It doesn't make sense to use it here because we never say 'at all this time'.
2 At: 'At this time' is a formal way of saying 'now', 'currently' or 'at the present moment'. This doesn't make sense here because the speaker is referring to what they thought in the past.
Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks below with the correct choice, either At | All | At all

Philip: We must penetrate the Asian market costs! Think about the potential customers in Asian countries, simply desperate for fine American products such as myself, err, I mean such as our perfumes. We must address this hungry market once. The longer we wait, the bigger the share of the profit we lose to our competitors. I personally volunteer to travel to Thailand next week, to look into some prospects there. Any objections? None ? Fantastic!
Fill in the blanks below with the correct choice, either At | All | At all

Philip: We must penetrate the Asian market at all 1 costs! Think about all 2 the potential customers in Asian countries, simply desperate for fine American products such as myself, err, I mean such as our perfumes. We must address this hungry market at 3 once. The longer we wait, the bigger the share of the profit we lose to our competitors. I personally volunteer to travel to Thailand next week, to look into some prospects there. Any objections? None at all 4? Fantastic!
1 at all: This is the correct choice. 'At all' is used to add emphasis in constructions such as this one. 'At all costs', or 'at any cost' is an expression which adds intensity to a statement.
2 all: 'All' is the correct choice here. Philip is referring to the potential Delavigne customers in Asia, and so he uses 'all' to express how many there are.
3 at: 'At once' is an idiom meaning 'immediately' or 'right away'. It is the best choice here.
4 at all: 'At all' is the best choice here. Philip asked if there were any objection to his trip to Thailand, and because no one answers we say that there were no objections 'at all'.
Exercise 3
Bruno: It's very nice of you to stop by to chat, Horatio, but I'm quite busy right now. Is there anything that I can help you with?
Horatio: I just wanted to visit your office. I get so lonely by myself in my laboratory.
Bruno: That's quite tragic, old friend. You feel lonely even with of the test monkeys?
Horatio: Yes, even with the monkeys, I am sad. Anyway, I'll leave you once. Please don't be a stranger.
Bruno: It's very nice of you to stop by to chat, Horatio, but I'm quite busy right now. Is there anything at all 1 that I can help you with?
Horatio: I just wanted to visit your office. I get so lonely all 2 by myself in my laboratory.
Bruno: That's quite tragic, old friend. You feel lonely even with all 3 of the test monkeys?
Horatio: Yes, even with the monkeys, I am sad. Anyway, I'll leave you at 4 once. Please don't be a stranger.
1 at all: 'At all' is the correct choice here. 'At all' can be used in questions such as this one to express a range or a wide scope of possibilities.
1 all: 'All' cannot be used in this particular construction, it is grammatically incorrect and makes no sense.
1 at: 'At' is primarily used as a preposition of place or in certain idioms. We cannot use it in this construction.
2 all: 'All by myself' is a common English expression meaning 'completely alone'. It is the best choice here.
2 at all: 'At all' cannot be used here. 'At all' is used to add emphasis in certain constructions. It doesn't make sense to use it here.
2 at: 'At' is primarily used as a preposition of place or in certain idioms. We cannot use it in this construction.
3 all: 'All' is the correct choice here. 'All of the monkeys' expresses the totality of the monkey population.
3 at all: 'At all' is used to add emphasis to certain statements or questions. It does not make sense to use it here.
3 always: 'Always' usually precedes the verb in a sentence. It would be grammatically incorrect to use it here.
3 at: 'At' is primarily used as a preposition of place or in certain idioms. We cannot use it in this construction.
4 at: 'At once' is an idiom meaning 'immediately' or 'right away'. It is the best choice here.
4 at all: 'At all' is used to add emphasis to certain statements or questions. It does not make sense to use it here. However, 'all at once' is an idiom which means 'all of a sudden'.
Exercise 4
Fill in the blanks below with either “At”, “All” or “At all”.

Polly: Hey, Susie, did you see of the protesters outside this morning?
Susie: Yes, they were standing right the entrance. It was almost impossible to get to work. Do you know what they’re protesting?
Polly: Apparently, they don’t like the food the canteen.
Susie: I don’t blame them. The food is awful. Do you think it will help if we join the protest?
Polly: It can’t hurt. Let’s go!
Fill in the blanks below with either “At”, “All” or “At all”.

Polly: Hey, Susie, did you see all 1 of the protesters outside this morning?
Susie: Yes, they were standing right at 2 the entrance. It was almost impossible to get to work. Do you know what they’re protesting?
Polly: Apparently, they don’t like the food at 3 the canteen.
Susie: I don’t blame them. The food is awful. Do you think it will help at all 4 if we join the protest?
Polly: It can’t hurt. Let’s go!
1 all: “All” is the correct choice here. “All of the protesters” expresses the totality of the group of protesters.
1 at: “At” is primarily used as a preposition of place or in certain idioms. We cannot use it in this construction. Example: I can’t meet you at 4 because I’ll be busy napping.”
1 at all: “At all” cannot be used here. “At all” is used to add emphasis in certain constructions and it doesn’t make sense here. Example: “I don’t like broccoli at all”.
2 at: “At” is the correct choice here. It is primarily used as a preposition of place or in certain idioms. Another example: I’ll meet you at the front door because I’m not in the mood to walk upstairs.”
2 at all: “At all” is used to add emphasis to certain statements or questions. It does not make sense here.
2 all: “All” cannot be used in this construction. It is grammatically incorrect and makes no sense. “All” usually expresses the totality of something. For example: “I was very hungry so I ate all of the bananas.”
3 at: “At” is the correct choice here. It is primarily used as a preposition of place or in certain idioms. Another example: “Did you hear that they banned cell phones at the airport?”
3 at all: “At all” is used to add emphasis to certain statements or questions. It does not make sense in this construction.
3 all: “All” is grammatically incorrect in this construction. “All” usually expresses the totality of something. Example: “I want to save all the dogs at the shelter.”
4 at all: “At all” is the correct choice here. “At all” can be used in questions such as this one for emphasis. Another example: “Do you care at all that I can’t come to your birthday party?”
4 all: “All” cannot be used in this construction. It is grammatically incorrect and makes no sense.
4 at: “At” is primarily used as a preposition of place or in certain idioms. Therefore, we cannot use it in this construction.
Exercise 5
Fill in the blanks below with either “At”, “All” or “At all”.

Sydney: Did you hear that Steve is moving to Siberia the end of the month?
Roxanne: That makes no sense ! He just accepted a promotion as Head Cheese Taster.
Sydney: That sounds like a dream job. Can you imagine eating cheese day long? I wonder why he would leave.
Roxanne: There has to be a mistake! Nobody would give that up.
Fill in the blanks below with either “At”, “All” or “At all”.

Sydney: Did you hear that Steve is moving to Siberia at 1 the end of the month?
Roxanne: That makes no sense at all 2! He just accepted a promotion as Head Cheese Taster.
Sydney: That sounds like a dream job. Can you imagine eating cheese all 3 day long? I wonder why he would leave.
Roxanne: There has to be a mistake! Nobody would give that up.
1 at: “At” is the correct choice here. It is primarily used as a preposition of place or in certain idioms. Another example: “Look at this snake I bought at the market today!”
1 at all: “At all” is used to add emphasis to certain statements or questions. It does not make sense in this construction.
1 all: “All” is grammatically incorrect in this construction. “All” usually expresses the totality of something. Example: “Look at all of the boats in the harbor today.”
2 at all: “At all” is the best choice here. “At all” can be used in statements such as this one for emphasis. Another example: “You don’t look like Brad Pitt at all!”
2 at: “At” is primarily used as a preposition of place or in certain idioms. We cannot use it in this construction.
2 all: “All” cannot be used in this construction. It is grammatically incorrect and makes no sense. It is usually used to express the totality of something. For example: “I ate all the cookies last night.”
3 all: “All” is the correct choice here. In this case, “all the time” is used to express eating cheese very frequently.
3 at all: “At all” cannot be used here. “At all” is used to add emphasis in certain constructions and it doesn’t make sense here. Example: “I wasn’t at all frightened by the movie.”
3 at: “At” is primarily used as a preposition of place or in certain idioms. We cannot use it in this construction. Example: You need to come see me at once!”

Still facing difficulties with 'At all'? Improve your English with Gymglish's English lessons - try our online English course for free now and receive a free level assessment!

What our users say:

Pleasure

         

I enjoy doing my online English lessons. Only ten minutes daily are enough...Thank you!

Innovative

         

I love your innovative method which allows me to learn a new language and have fun at the same time!

Unique

         

Your method is unique! Your courses have helped me to progress and gain confidence during my travels.

Progress

         

Gymglish has allowed me to improve my English. A daily routine I wouldn't miss for anything in the world!

More testimonials.

Find out about other grammar rules. Improve your English further and test Gymglish, online English lessons.

Tips for learning 'At all'? Share them with us!

TEST YOUR ENGLISH