all of them

Meaning

This phrase is used to refer to every single person or item in a specific, previously mentioned group. It emphasizes completeness, leaving nothing or no one out. It is highly versatile and used in both formal and informal contexts.

Examples

• I bought ten cupcakes, and the kids ate all of them.

  I bought ten cupcakes, and the kids ate all of them.

• He invited twenty people to the party, and all of them showed up.

  He invited twenty people to the party, and all of them showed up.

• I looked at several apartments, but all of them were too expensive.

  I looked at several apartments, but all of them were too expensive.

• She dropped her keys, and all of them fell down the drain.

  She dropped her keys, and all of them fell down the drain.

• We have five dogs, and all of them love to play fetch.

  We have five dogs, and all of them love to play fetch.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I have three brothers and all them are tall.

  ✓ I have three brothers and all of them are tall.

  When using 'all' followed by an object pronoun (them, us, you) as a subject or object, you must include the preposition 'of'.

• ✗ They showed me the options, but I didn't like all of them.

  ✓ They showed me the options, but I didn't like any of them.

  In negative sentences, 'not... all of them' means you liked some but not all. If you want to say you liked zero options, use 'not... any of them' or 'none of them'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• I checked the documents, and ___ need to be signed by tomorrow.

  💡 Every single one of the documents.

  Show answer

  all of them

• There were five cookies on the plate, but my brother ate ___.

  💡 Every single cookie.

  Show answer

  all of them