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

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!

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.
• 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.

• 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.

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.
• 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.

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.

  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

• 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.
• 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!

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

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!

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:

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!