all of the ... (specific) vs all ... (generic) — Murphy Unit 88
Pattern
Section titled “Pattern”“of” + determiner + noun = specific | bare noun after determiner = generic
| Form | Meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|
| all + bare noun | generic / general claim | proverb, abstract statement |
| all of + determiner + noun | specific subset | the particular one(s) just mentioned |
Examples
Section titled “Examples”| Generic | Specific |
|---|---|
| All money is dirty. (proverb) | All of the money I gave you is gone. (specific sum) |
| All people die. (general truth) | All of the people I invited came. (specific group) |
| Most students should study. (general) | Most of the students in this class passed. (specific class) |
| Some people are tall. (general) | Some of the people I know are tall. (specific) |
| Many books are heavy. (general) | Many of the books on this shelf are heavy. (specific) |
Why “all of money” is wrong
Section titled “Why “all of money” is wrong”The “of” construction needs to pull a specific subset from a set. To specify which subset, English needs a determiner (the / my / this / that / these) before the noun:
- all of the money (the specific money mentioned)
- all of my money (the specific money belonging to me)
- all of this money (this specific money)
- all of it (pronoun — no article needed)
Without a determiner, “of + bare noun” sounds ungrammatical — like “I gave you of money” (missing “some/the”).
Cure-Dolly style: “of” is a specifier-puller. It needs a specific thing to pull from. “the” marks the thing as already known to both speaker and listener — exactly what “of” needs.
Applies to all “of”-determiners
Section titled “Applies to all “of”-determiners”| Determiner | Generic | Specific |
|---|---|---|
| all | all money | all of the money |
| most | most students | most of the students |
| some | some people | some of the people |
| many | many books | many of the books |
| few | few people | few of the people |
| half | half the work / half of the work | (both work) |
| any | any student | any of the students |
| each | each book | each of the books |
| either | either answer | either of the answers |
Pronouns after “of” — no article needed
Section titled “Pronouns after “of” — no article needed”| With noun (need determiner) | With pronoun (no article) |
|---|---|
| all of the money | all of it |
| most of the students | most of them |
| some of my friends | some of us |
Rule: when the “of” target is a pronoun (it, them, us, him, her), drop the article. Pronouns carry their own definiteness.
Half — the exception
Section titled “Half — the exception”Half can drop “of” entirely. Both forms work:
- half the work ✓
- half of the work ✓
- half of it ✓ (pronoun)
- half work ✗ (missing article)
No other determiner drops “of” this naturally. All the work / all of the work both work too, but most the work is wrong (must be most of the work).
half + my/the + noun — no “of” before determiners
Section titled “half + my/the + noun — no “of” before determiners”I had no appetite. I could only eat half my dinner. ✓ (✗ the half of my dinner · ✗ half of dinner)
all / both / half sit directly before a determiner — no “of”:
| no of (determiner follows) | of required |
|---|---|
| half my dinner · half the time | half of it (pronoun) |
| all my friends · all the money | most of the students |
| both my hands · both these books | many of the books |
- ✗ the half of my dinner — doubled determiner (the + my) is impossible
- ✗ half of dinner — bare noun, no determiner to pull from (see the of-puller rule above)
most is the odd one: it always needs of + determiner (most of my friends), never most my friends.
Test application 2
Section titled “Test application 2”I had no appetite. I could only eat ___ .
Answer: half my dinner — half + possessive determiner, no of. The alternatives miss a determiner (half of dinner) or double it (the half of my dinner).
Indonesian trap
Section titled “Indonesian trap”Indonesian semua uang (“all money”) doesn’t use a definite article. Translating word-for-word gives:
- all money — sounds generic/proverbial
- all of money — wrong (missing article)
English requires “the” (or another determiner) for the specific reading. So semua uang yang saya berikan (“all of the money I gave you”) = all of the money I gave you, not all of money I gave you.
Test application
Section titled “Test application”A: Did you spend ___ I gave you? B: No, there’s some left.
Answer: all of the money. The noun “money” is specific (the money A gave B), so it needs “of the”.
Why not the others?
- all money — generic, sounds proverbial
- all of money — wrong, missing “the”
- all of the money ✓
Source
Section titled “Source”Raymond Murphy, English Grammar in Use (4th ed.), Unit 88 — some / some of, most / most of, etc. Ebot lesson 2026-08-29: “Did you spend ___ I gave you?” with options all money / all of money / all of the money. Correct: all of the money. User’s summary: “all noun = generic, all of (determiner) noun = specific.”