At allmeans ‘in any way’. We use it with questions and negatives to add emphasis, but not with affirmative statements:
Do you want to swim in the seaat all?
She was notat allfrightened.
We can useat allbefore or after an adjective:
Were youat allupset by Kevin’s behaviour?
They weren’t interestedat all.
At alland politeness
We often useat allat the end of a question to make the question sound more polite:
[IDis an abbreviation of ‘identification’]
Do you have any IDat all?
[a waiter in a restaurant]
Would you like any dessertsat all?
We can usenot at allas a polite response to questions askingWould you mind …?orDo you mind …?and as a polite follow-up response tothank you:
A:Would you mind taking this parcel to the main office?.
B:No,not at all.
A:Do you mind if I sit here?
B:Not at all.
A:That’s very kind of you, thank you.
B:Not at all.