At first, the phrase “alls I know” didn’t seem like something we’d say. There was something about seeing “all” in plural form that didn’t sit well with us.
Then we said it out loud.
Once we heard it, the phrase didn’t seem strange at all. However, when someone asked us exactly where this construction came from, we didn’t have an answer.
The construction in question is called an all-cleft. It’s a kind of sentence that begins with a subordinate clause like “All I know,” which is followed by a form of “to be.” For example, “All I know is…”
When it comes to “all” in this construction, it’s interesting to note that this particular “all” refers to something relatively small or minor. For example, “All I know is that I don’t want pizza for dinner.”
In terms of where this construction comes from, there are multiple hypotheses, and we’re not going to be able to give one solid answer.
Ben Zimmer tackled this topic in a column for the New York Times in 2010. In it, Zimmer supports the hypothesis that “alls” is actually a shortening of “all as,” where “as” is working as a relative pronoun: “All as I know.”
The Dictionary of American Regional English has examples of “alls” back to the 1880s. Zimmer researched literature prior to that date and found some good examples of “all as,” including this line from George Eliot’s 1861 novel Silas Marner: “And all as we've got to do is to trusten, Master Marner...”
At this point, all we know about “alls” is that there’s plenty more to talk about. To hear the rest of our discussion, listen to the audio above.
