Collins Cobuild

Unit 27
All, most, no, none
Main points
You use ‘all’ with plural count nouns and uncount nouns. You use
‘all’  to  talk  about  every  person  or  thing  in  the  world,  or  in  the
group you are talking about.
You  use  ‘most’  with  plural  count  nouns  and  uncount  nouns.  You
use ‘most’ to talk about nearly all of a number of people or things,
or nearly all of a quantity of something.
You  use  ‘no’  with  singular  and  plural  count  nouns  and  uncount
nouns. You use ‘no’ to say that something does not exist or is not
present.
1
You use ‘all’ with plural count nouns and uncount nouns to talk about
every person or thing in the world or in the group that you are talking
about.
All children should complete the primary course.
All important decisions were taken by the government.
He soon lost all hope of becoming a rock star.
All luggage will be searched.
2
 You  use  ‘most’  with  plural  count  nouns  and  uncount  nouns  to  talk
about  nearly  all  of  a  number  of  people  or  things,  or  nearly  all  of  a
quantity of something.

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The method was suitable for most purposes.
Most good drivers stop at zebra crossings.
Most milk is still delivered to people’s houses.
He ignored most advice, and did what he thought best.
3
 You  use  ‘no’  with  singular  count  nouns,  plural  count  nouns,  and
uncount nouns to say that something does not exist or is not present.
There was no chair for me to sit on.
They had no immediate plans to change house.
No money was available for the operation.
Note that if there is another word in the clause that makes it negative,
you use ‘any’, not ‘no’.
It hasn’t made any difference.
He will never do any work for me again.
4
‘All’ and ‘most’ are also pronouns, so you can say ‘all of’ and ‘most of’.
‘No’ is not a pronoun, so you must say ‘none of’.
He spent all of the money on a new car.
Most of my friends live in London.
None of those farmers had ever driven a tractor.
Note  that  you  use  ‘all  of’,  ‘most  of’,  and  ‘none  of’  with  an  object
pronoun.
All of us were sleeping.
I had seen most of them before.
None of them came to the party.
Note that if the clause is already negative, you use ‘any of’, not ‘none
of’.
I hadn’t eaten any of the biscuits.

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When ‘none of’ is followed by a plural noun or pronoun, the verb is
usually plural, but can be singular.
None of us are the same.
None of them has lasted very long.
5
 You  can  use  ‘all  the’  with  a  plural  count  noun  or  an  uncount  noun.
There is no difference in meaning between ‘all the’ and ‘all of the’.
All the girls think it’s great.
All the best jokes came at the end of the programme.
Thank you for all the help you gave me.
WARNING: You cannot say ‘most the’ or ‘none the’. You must say
‘most of the’ or ‘none of the’.
6
You can use ‘all’ after a noun or pronoun to emphasize that the noun
or pronoun refers to everyone or everything that has been mentioned
or is involved.
Note that you can use ‘all’ to emphasize the subject or the object.
The band all live together in the same house. I enjoyed it all.

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