Everyone or Every One | Difference, Examples & Quiz

Everyone and every one are pronounced the same but have different meanings.

  • Everyone (one word) is an indefinite pronoun meaning ‘everybody’. It’s pronounced with the stress on the first syllable only: [ev-ry-one].
  • Every one (two words) is a phrase used to refer to each individual or thing in a group, usually followed by ‘of’. It’s pronounced with the stress on the first and third syllables: [ev-ry-one].
Examples: Everyone in a sentence Examples: Every one in a sentence
Everyone except Joe attended the concert. Every one of the phones has a camera.
Not everyone enjoys reading poetry. Every one of Jill’s brothers is in the army.

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What does everyone mean

Everyone is an indefinite pronoun meaning the same as ‘everybody’. It’s treated as a singular pronoun, so it’s always used with a singular verb form. ‘Everyone’ is only used to refer to people, not things.

Examples: Everyone is a singular pronoun
  • Everyone are invited to the wedding.
  • Everyone is invited to the wedding.
  • Everyone are going to soccer practice.
  • Everyone is going to soccer practice.

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What does every one mean

Every one is a phrase used to refer to each individual or thing in a group, not the group as a whole. It’s always used with a singular verb form and is typically followed by a phrase starting with the preposition ‘of’. It can refer to people or to things.

Examples: Every one to refer to individuals 
The protagonist defeated every one of his enemies.

Every one of the students did well in the exam.

Tip
If you’re unsure whether to use everyone or every one, try replacing the word ‘every’ with ‘each’.

  • If the sentence still makes sense, every one is the correct phrase to use.
  • If not, you might mean everyone.

And bear in mind that if what comes next is a phrase starting with ‘of’, you probably need every one.

Worksheet: Every one vs. everyone

You can test your understanding of the difference between ‘every one’ and ‘everyone’ with the worksheet below. Fill in either ‘every one’ or ‘everyone’ in each sentence.

  1. Janet is very friendly. She says ‘hello’ to _______ she meets.
  2. I’ve read _______ of the books in the series.
  3. _______ in the office eats lunch at a nearby restaurant.
  4. _______ of my friends has a dog.
  5. Does _______ understand what I mean?
  1. Janet is very friendly. She says ‘hello’ to everyone she meets.
  1. I’ve read every one of the books in the series.
    • ‘Every one’ is a phrase used to refer to each individual or thing in a group.
  1. Everyone in the office eats lunch at a nearby restaurant.
    • ‘Everyone’ is treated as singular pronoun, so it’s always used with a singular verb form (‘everyone eats’ not ‘everyone eat’).
  1. Every one of my friends has a dog.
    • ‘Every one’ is typically followed by a phrase starting with the preposition ‘of’.
  1. Does everyone understand what I mean?
    • The indefinite pronoun ‘everyone’ is correct here.

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    Ryan, E. (2023, March 11). Everyone or Every One | Difference, Examples & Quiz. Scribbr. Retrieved 3 December 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/frequently-confused-words/everyone-or-every-one/

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    Eoghan Ryan

    Eoghan has a lot of experience with theses and dissertations at bachelor's, MA, and PhD level. He has taught university English courses, helping students to improve their research and writing.