All and every
These two small words are often confused. Can you keep them straight? Complete the following sentences. You can check your answers at the bottom of the page.
- I get up at 6:00 all days / every day.
- We have to research all / everything.
- Did you stay for all / every of the meeting?
All and every are very similar in meaning, but they are used in different structures.
All refers to a whole and is generally used with prepositions (words like of and about). For example:
- Hannah read all of the report on her desk. (She read the whole report.)
Sentence three above is also an example of this use:
- Did you stay for all of the meeting? (the whole meeting)
Every refers to individuals as a group and is generally used with nouns (words like cat, desk, clock). For example:
- Hannah read every report on her desk. (She read each individual report in the stack.)
Sentences one and two above are also examples of this:
- I get up at 6:00 every day. (each individual day)
- We have to research everything. (each of the individual points)
1. every day, 2. everything, 3. all