At all
At all means ‘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 sea at all?
She was not at all frightened.
We can use at all before or after an adjective: Were you at all upset by Kevin’s behaviour?
They weren’t interested at all.
At all and politeness
We often use at all at the end of a question to make the question sound more polite: [ID is an abbreviation of ‘identification’] Do you have any ID at all?
[a waiter in a restaurant] Would you like any desserts at all?
We can use not at all as a polite response to questions asking Would you mind …? or Do you mind …? and as a polite follow-up response to thank 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.
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