There was a question in class recently about when to use all/every and neither/either... so here goes..
EVERY/EACH/ALL
We use ‘every’
(and ‘each’) before a singular noun to talk about a whole group. In many
contexts both words either word is possible, but there is a difference in
meaning. ( The police questioned every
person/each person in the building. Every room/Each room has a number)
‘Every person’ means ‘all the people’ or ‘everyone’ whereas ‘Each person’ means
all the people seen as individuals, one by one. (The teacher carefully counted each of the students one by one). On
the other hand, when ‘all’ is used to refer to a group it takes a plural
noun (all the people, all the
students, all men, all women etc). Of course, ‘All’ can take a singular noun when it refers to
time ( all morning, all day, all year etc).
BOTH/EITHER/NIETHER
We use both, either and neither to refer to two
things.
‘Both’ means ‘the one and
the other’. (I’ve got two children. They
are both wonderful).
‘Either’ means ‘the one or
the other’. (I haven’t met either of your
brothers/either brother/either of them).
‘Neither’ means ‘not
the one or the other’. (I’ve got two
pairs of jeans and neither fit(s) me/neither of them fit(s) me/neither pair
fit(s).
Neither/So
We can also use ‘neither’ after a negative statement ( and
‘so’ after a positive one) using the structure so/neither + an auxiliary +the
subject
A: I’m so hungry
B: So am I! I haven’t
eaten anything all day.
A Neither have I. I
didn’t have time for breakfast
I hope that clears things up a little clearer.
