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How to use ‘each,’ ‘every,’ and ‘all’ in English?

By: Isabel McKay Thu Sep 12 2024
English
Adjectives, Pronouns, Determiners, Grammar Tips

In English, we use the words each, every, and all to talk about 100% of a group. For example:

  • each child = 100% of the children

  • every child = 100% of the children

  • all the children = 100% of the children

So what is the difference? You can probably already see a few! In this post we’ll talk about the slight grammatical and meaning differences between these three words, and give you some tips for how to use them naturally!

Be careful and read each and every section of this post: all of the information is important!

Table of Contents

    How to use ‘each’ in English?

    We use each in English to refer to 100% of a specific group. We usually use each in a situation where we are looking at the members of that group one-by-one. Here are the main grammar patterns:

    • each

      singular count noun

      I gave each child a ticket.

      Each little girl gave me a valentine.

      In this use, each is a determiner, so it is used before any other adjectives (like little) and it is not used with other determiners. Check out our mini-post on English determiners to learn more!

      If you have already talked about the noun, you can technically remove the noun and use each as a pronoun, but this is rare:

      There were six children. I gave each a ticket.

      Tip

      To sound more natural, use each with a pronoun in one of the structures below, or use the phrase each one:

      There were six children. I gave each one a ticket.

    • each

      of

      plural noun phrase / pronoun

      I gave each of the children a ticket.

      Each of them gave me a valentine.

      Here, the noun after of is plural, but the word each is still singular, so we use it with a singular verb:

      Each of the children has a ticket.

      The noun phrase after of always describes a specific group, so it is always definite, so it needs a word like the, my, Lucy's, or these.

      Tip

      To add emphasis, use each one before of. For example:

      I gave each one of them a ticket.

    • plural noun phrase / pronoun

      each

      You can use the word each after the subject of a sentence:

      • The little girls each gave me a valentine.

      • They each gave me a valentine.

      Here, the plural noun is the subject, not each, so we use a plural verb instead:

      They each have a ticket.

      → Compare: Each of them has a ticket.

      In this use, the word each often moves so that it comes after the verb be or after auxiliary verbs. This adds a bit of emphasis, but it does not change the meaning:

      • They each are quite tall. = They are each quite tall.

      • They each are being watched. = They are each being watched.

      • They each can catch fish. = They can each catch fish.

      You can also use each after an indirect object that is a pronoun:

      I gave them each a ticket.

      Tip

      Some English speakers use each after indirect object nouns too, but this is very informal. It is better to use each of + noun phrase.

      🆗 I gave the little girls each ticket. → ✅ I gave each of the little girls a ticket

    How to use ‘every’ in English?

    In English, we use every to refer to 100% of a group, and like with each we are going through them one-by-one. Here are the main grammar patterns:

    • every

      singular count noun

      Every student has a pencil.

      Alex caught every Pokemon in the game.

      In this use, every is a determiner, so it is used before other adjectives and it is not used with other determiners. Check out our mini-post on English determiners to learn more!

      You cannot use every as a pronoun! Instead, use the phrase every one:

      There were five students.

      ❌ Every has a pencil

      ✅ Every one has a pencil.

      Tip

      Notice that there is a difference between every one (two words) and everyone (one word):

      • ✅ There were six slices of cake. I ate every one.

      • ❌ There were six slices of cake. I ate everyone.

      Everyone (one word) is only for humans. It refers to 100% of the people in a situation. So unless you are a cannibal, the second sentence is wrong! 😱

    • every one

      of

      plural noun phrase / plural pronoun

      Every one of the students has a pencil.

      Every one of them has a pencil.

      Alex caught every one of the Pokemon in the game.

      Even though the noun after of is plural, every one is still singular, so we use this with singular verbs:

      Every one of the students has a pencil.

      The noun phrase after of always describes a specific group, so it is always definite, so it needs a word like these, her, Joe's, or the.

    How to use ‘all’ in English?

    In English, we use the word all to discuss 100% of a group when we are viewing the group as a single unit. All is a little different because we can use it with both count nouns and mass nouns. Here are the main grammar patterns:

    • all

      of

      noun phrase / pronoun

      Use all + of with:

      • singular mass nouns:

        • All of the bread is ready to eat!

        • I spilled all of the milk on the floor.

      • plural count nouns:

        • All of the cows have been milked.

        • We’ve cleaned all of the bedrooms.

      Important

      In spoken English, we almost always drop the word of after all, so you will likely hear:

      • We’ve cleaned all the bedrooms.

      • All the bread is ready to eat.

      But we do not drop of before a pronoun:

      ❌ We cleaned all them.

      Notice that we use a singular verb when the noun after of is singular, and a plural verb when the noun after of is plural:

      • All of the bread is ready to eat.

        → singular

      • All of the cows have been milked.

        → plural
      Tip

      Technically, you can use all alone as a pronoun, but this is old-fashioned and formal:

      There are 30 cows. All have been milked.

      It is much more common to just replace the noun after of with a pronoun:

      • There are 3 bedrooms. We’ve cleaned all of them.

      • I had a carton of milk. I spilled all of it on the floor.

    • noun phrase / pronoun

      all

      You can use all after some noun phrases and most pronouns. Follow these rules:

      • You can use all after any noun or pronoun that is the subject of a sentence:

        • The cows all have been milked.
          They all have been milked.

        • The milk all was spilled on the floor.
          It all was spilled on the floor.

        However, it is much more common to put all after the first auxiliary verb or after other uses of the verb be. The meaning stays the same:

        • The cows have all been milked.

        • The milk was all spilled on the floor.

      • You can use allafter any pronoun that is an object of a verb:

        • I fed them all.

        • I spilled it all on the floor.

      Tip

      This is the source of the the word y'all that some English speakers use as a 2nd person plural pronoun comes from: you all → y’all.

    • all

      noun

      You can use all directly before noun, but only to make universal statements. It refers to 100% of some type of noun in general:

      • All cows eat grass.

      • All milk goes bad eventually.

      In this use, all is a determiner, so it is used before any other adjectives and it is not used with other determiners. Check out our mini-post on English determiners to learn more!

    Important

    The word all is also an adverb that can describe:

    • adjectives (e.g. blue, shiny, wet, ...)

      She was all wet.

      She was 100% wet.

    • some prepositions of place (e.g. over, around, inside, across, along, etc.)

      The milk was spilled all over the floor

      The floor was 100% covered in milk.

    TIP
    Notice the difference in meaning between the sentence above and the case where alldescribes a noun:
    The milk was all spilled on the floor.(100% of the milk was on the floor.)

    ‘Each’ vs. ‘every’ vs. ‘all’: What’s the difference?

    We have seen above that there are some grammatical differences between each, every, and all. For example:

    Each cow

    Each of the cows

    The cows each

    Every cow

    Every one of the cows

    All cows / milk

    All of the cows / milk

    The cows / milk all

    But there are also some differences in the meanings of these three words. While each, every, and all mean 100% of a group they differ in two main ways: the size of the group and how the objects of the sentence are distributed (one-by-one, or all at once). There are also some differences in the words that we use to modify each, every, and all. Let’s have a look!

    The size of the group

    The first difference between each, every, and all is in the minimum size of the group:

    • Each is for a group of two or more:

      ✅ There were two boys. They each had brown hair.

    • All and every are for a group of three or more

      • ❌ There were two boys. They all had brown hair.

      • ❌ There were two boys. Every one had brown hair.

      If there is a group of 2, use the English quantifier both to express this meaning instead!

    How the objects are distributed

    The second difference between each, every, and all impacts how the objects of a sentence are distributed among the members of the group. Look at this:

    • Each child wore a hat.

      → one hat per child

    • Every child wore a hat.

      → one hat per child

    • All the children wore a hat.

      → the children shared one hat

    In general, English speakers will assume that…

    • With each and every, objects are distributed to the individual members of the group one-by-one.

      (child 1 wears one hat, child 2 wears one hat, child 3 wears one hat, ...)

    • With all, objects are distributed to the whole group together.

      (the group together wears one hat)

      This is also how both works in English as well:

      The children both wore a hat.

      → the children shared one hat
      Tip

      If you are using all or both , you can show that there is one hat per child by using a plural object instead:

      All / both the children wore hats.

      → This means that 100% of children have hats on their heads.

    How to use ‘almost,’ ‘nearly,’ and ‘not’ with ‘each,’ ‘every,’ and ‘all’?

    You can use the word almost or nearly before every or all to talk about close to 100% of a group, but we do not use these words with each:

    • ✅ Almost every room has been cleaned.

      → near 100%

    • ✅ Almost all of the rooms have been cleaned.

      → near 100%

    • ❌ Almost each of the rooms have been cleaned.

    Similarly the word not can come directly before every and all, but not each. This shows that it is not true that the statement applies to 100% of the group:

    • ✅ Not every room has been cleaned.

      → not 100%

    • ✅ Not all of the rooms have been cleaned.

      → not 100%

    • ❌ Not each of the rooms have been cleaned.

    Summing up

    You’ve just had a look at these three very basic, very useful quantifying adjectives: each, every, and all. Here’s a summary of what we covered about how to use them in different types of sentences:

    before a noun
    ____ of + determiner
    to replace a noun
    after a noun
    each

    → singular count nouns

    each toy

    → with plural count nouns
    → is singular

    each of the toys is…

    → replaces count nouns
    → is singular

    each is…

    → with plural count nouns

    they each are…

    every

    → singular count nouns

    every cup

    → must use "every one"
    → with plural count nouns
    → is singular

    every one of her cups is…

    → must use “every one”
    → replaces count nouns
    → is singular

    every one is…

    ❌

    all

    → plural count nouns or singular mass nouns
    → always means “in general”

    all cats

    → in general

    all milk

    → in general

    → with plural count nouns or singular mass nouns
    → takes its number from the noun

    all of these cats are…

    all of the milk is…

    → ONLY replaces count nouns
    → is plural

    all are…

    → with plural count nouns or singular mass nouns

    they all are…

    it all is…

    And here’s what we covered about the meanings of these words:

    • each, every, and all mean almost the same thing: 100% of the group.

      • Each and every refer to the individuals in the group

      • All talks about the group as a whole

    • This difference in meaning mostly affects the number (singular/plural) you should use for an object when the subject or indirect object is marked by each, every, or all.

    Now that you’ve had this basic explanation, why practice this new knowledge by taking a look at the activities to practice each, every, and all that we've prepared! Or, if you’d like to learn more about words like each, every, and all, have a look at our posts on quantifying adjectives in English and indefinite pronouns in English!

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