All

While reading Neil Gaiman's comic "Dream Country," I was reminded of a grammar question that I wanted answered. The question is, "what verb do we use with the word, all?" As many of you know, all is a word which means "total or complete"-- "all my copies of Gaiman's Sandman are accounted for" (I have several copies and the total number is available to me).

I did some research and I found out that whether the word takes a plural or singular verb depends on the noun that all refers to. For example, "all my books are in my library" (the noun being referred to is books, a plural noun). From sappy love songs and cards, we get the expression, "all that matters is you," where all refers to you, a singular entity.

I hope all is well with everyone.