ALL, BOTH, EVERY, EACH
You use all to consider a whole thing or group, complete with its parts or members. You can talk about ‘all bread’, ‘all the bread, or ‘all of the bread’, and ‘all books’, ‘all the books’, or ‘all of the books’. You can also talk about ‘all people’, ‘all the people’, or all of the people*.
Note that when all is used to consider a group, it implies that the group has more than two members.
1. Our task, and the task of all education, is to understand the present world.
2. All their equipment is good.
3. But remember: most of mankind is not all of mankind.
4. All green plants depend on light.
5. …a list of all the biggest countries in the world.
6. She thought of all the women Marsha had told her about.
7. He wanted all of the people to be there.
You can also say that people or things all do something.
8. …the big table where we all ate from different plates and odd Patterned cups and saucers.
You use both to refer to two people or things. You can talk about both boys’, ‘both the boys’, or ‘both of the boys’.
9. …the assassination of both Kennedy brothers.
10. Roth the kings under whom he served had financial difficulties. Both of the diplomats blushed when the company thanked them.
You can also say that people or things both do something.
10. Tony and Nigel both laughed noisily.
You use every to indicate that you are referring to all the members of a group and not just to some of them. Note that every implies that the group you are considering has more than two members. You only use every with a singular noun.
11. He listened to every news bulletin on the radio.
12. Every house had to be cleaned.
13. We are still so far from granting an equal chance to every child.
You use each to talk about every person or thing in a group. You use each rather than ‘every’ when you are thinking about the members of a group as individuals. Note that each can refer to both members of a pair. You only use each with a singular noun.
14. The treatment is different in each case.
15. It may be impossible to give each child a room to himself.
16. Each apartment has one or two twin-bedded rooms.
You can also say that people or things each do something or that each of them does something.
17. We each carried a blue marking pencil.
18. There will be the benefit of the lower rates of tax for each of them.
19. Each of the boys stood to earn as much as he used to.
