All right.

So let's see how to use this expression " at all ".

In order to understand it, let me read you a few sentences

where I 've used this expression

and you try to figure out if you can understand

what it means and why we use it at all.

I don't like this music at all.

He doesn't enjoy his work at all.

She didn't understand the instructions at all.

All right?

So what 's going on here?

Why did we use the expression " at all " at the end of these three sentences?

After all, I could 've said, " I don't like this music."

So why did I say, " I don't like this music at all "?

What do you think?

Well, the reason I said, " I don't like this music at all," is because

I was trying to emphasize or stress that I really don't like this music, okay?

So one way of doing that is by adding this expression, " at all ",

at the end of my sentence.

Similarly in the second one.

I could 've said, " He doesn't enjoy his work," all right?

And that's a perfectly correct sentence.

But when I said, " He doesn't enjoy his work at all," I mean,

he really, really doesn't enjoy his work, okay?

All right.

So that's the expression " at all ".

Now, there's another way in which you might see this expression being used.

For example if someone says, " Do you like spinach?"

And you don't, you really don't like it for some reason,

you might say, " No, not at all, though I know it's good for us."

Okay? So, do you like spinach?

Not at all, all right?

So that's another way in which you might see that expression being used.

And one last point about this.

Let's read this one.

I eat non - vegetarian food at all.

Well, we can't use this expression, " at all ", in this way.

Why?

Because this is a positive sentence.

And as you might have noticed,

we can only use the expression " at all " in negative sentences.

So, we cannot say, " I eat non - vegetarian food at all."

You have to say, you can only use it in a negative expression, like this one :

I don't eat non - vegetarian food at all.

That means, I don't eat even a little bit, okay?

Because the expression " at all "

means " even a little ", " to the slightest degree ".

That means, " I don't like this music at all,"