5/04/2010

Everybody Wants It All






All and every are used to talk about three or more objects, but they have different companions. Look.

all + plural noun:                     All the objects are in the room.
all + uncountable noun:          All the stuff is in the room.
all + of + plural noun:             All of the objects are in the room.
all + of + pronoun:                  All of them are in the room.
pronoun + all:                          I’ve got them all in the room.
verb be + all:                           They are all in the room.

every + singular noun:                 Every object is in the room.
every in a compound pronoun:  Everything is in the room.

Notice that you can use the between all and nouns in specific cases, whereas we never use the after every. Also notice that, similar to adjectives, all and every must be accompanied by a noun or pronoun. One exception, as shown above, is the verb be + all. Another exception to this case is when we use it before a relative clause. Ironically, it acquires the meaning of the only thing.

All I need is a good night’s sleep.

You must also be careful when using all / every + time. In these cases, all is similar to entire and is followed by a singular noun. Check out the difference:

I work all day. = I work the entire day.
I work every day. = I work each day.

The question is: Do you feel like you work all day every day?!

1 comment:

kety said...

Yes, I sometimes fell like I work all day every day!!!!!!