AT ALL / WHATSOEVER ?¿

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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > AT ALL / WHATSOEVER ?¿

AT ALL / WHATSOEVER ?¿

MissMelissa12

AT ALL / WHATSOEVER ?¿

Can someone tell me when I can use AT ALL and WHATSOEVER.

I see people use it instead of AT ALL sometimes, but I have just been told that it is not always like that.

I�m currently going over some info as well. BUt please HELP me to understand this!!

THANKS FOR UR POSSIBLE ANSWERS!!

17 Jan 2009

Zora

At all - is used in a negative sentence like - whatsoever - and means sort of the same thing BUT whatsoever usually has "any" in the sentence and "at all" doesn�t usually need to use "any"... thats a sort of general idea though...

17 Jan 2009

libertybelle

Hey Zora.............

HUH?

hugs duh me! Ermm

17 Jan 2009

Zora

Okay example:

There isn�t any bread "whatsoever" in the house.

The isn�t (any) bread "at all" in the house. (any is optional here but not in the one above)

BUT we can say:

He didn�t agree with me whatsoever/at all... both are correct.

17 Jan 2009

MissMelissa12

huh ??

17 Jan 2009

MissMelissa12

so ...only when I use ��any�� will make the difference?

17 Jan 2009

Zora

Basically... sorry that I can�t be more specific but they are synonyms and mean the same thing more or less.

17 Jan 2009

alien boy

Hi everyone!

�at all� is quite a tricky little phrase. A lot depends on what sense you use it in as to when you would use it or �whatsoever�/�whatever�. Zora is correct in that generally they are synonyms when used in the negative. But not always.

For example, a polite response to �Thank you� could be �Not at all�. The equivalent casual response may be �No problem�. You wouldn�t normally tack �whatsoever� or �whatever on the end of this�

Also �whatsoever� is sometimes used as an emphatic form of whatever. So �whatsoever� can be used after �any� or �no� to mean the same thing as �at all� but is generally more formal & emphatic.

Just a few thoughts.

17 Jan 2009

MissMelissa12

IF they are synonims as Zora says...

Are there sentences right?

"I don�t like cats AT ALL".

"I don�t like cats WHATSOEVER".

"In my class there will be no bad behavior whatsoever"

"In my class there will be no bad behavior at all" .

"There is no reason whatsoever to keep acting like this"
" There is not reason at all to keep acting like this".

"He didn�t like the game at all" .

"He didn�t like the game whatsoever".

"When I was younger I didn�t have much money at all" .

"When I was younger I didn�t have much money whatsoever".

17 Jan 2009

Zora

All those sentences seem correct to me... Smile

- granted it�s late and I might be wrong... I�ll let Alien boy confirm, correct or add to it.. Nite guys...

17 Jan 2009

alien boy

Miss Melissa,

All the sentences are correct in general meaning.

The only real difference is in register - �whatsoever� is a little more formal, �at all� is a little more casual (generally, but a lot depends on the form of English you speak).

�Whatsoever� is (again generally) more emphatic than �at all�. By adding an exclamation mark at the end of the �at all� statements that would make them more emphatic also.

please excuse me if I�m rambling - I have a nasty little head cold & am stuck in bed.

feel free to message me if you want me to be a little clearer.

Goodnight Zora - it�s not even lunch time here yet.... I need sleep & soup!

17 Jan 2009

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