alle or alles?
a1alle counts people or things you could count one by one, and is plural. alles is a mass with no separate parts, and is singular. It is the same split as between 'all the people' and 'everything I own'.
alle
Plural and countable. The verb is plural too: alle sind da.
Alle Kinder haben schon gegessen.All the children have already eaten.
alles
Singular and uncountable. The verb is singular too: alles ist fertig.
Alles ist schon vorbereitet.Everything is already prepared.
The mistake
Alles sind gekommen.
Alle sind gekommen.
People are countable, so it is alle - and the verb has to be plural. This is the mistake that shows the difference fastest: alles takes ist, alle takes sind.
Rule of thumb
If you could add 'one by one' in your head, it is alle. Otherwise alles.
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