Every, Each, All: Talking about groups

• Each student receives a personalized feedback report. (This implies: Student 1 receives, then Student 2 receives, and so on.)
• Each ticket costs five dollars.

• Each of the solutions offers a unique approach. (Not offer. We are considering solution one, solution two, etc., individually.)
• Each of my friends lives in a different city.

• The children were given two cookies, and each was delicious.
• We had many options, and each seemed viable.

• Every seat in the auditorium was filled. (This views all seats as part of a complete set, without focusing on individual seats.)
• Every language has its own unique features. (This is a general statement about the category 'language'.)

• Every one of the books is required reading for the course.
• Every one of my colleagues contributes to team meetings.

• The questions were challenging, and every one required careful thought.

• All students have submitted their assignments.
• All the lights in the building were switched off.

• All the water in the reservoir is carefully monitored.
• All the information was compiled into a single report.

• All (of the) children are playing in the park.
• All (of the) progress was recorded in the system.
• All of her suggestions were helpful.

• The team members arrived, and all were ready to begin. (Refers to people, plural verb.)
• The work was finished, and all was submitted on time. (Refers to the uncountable 'work', singular verb.)

• each other: Indicates a reciprocal action between two or more entities.
• They looked at each other and smiled.
• each and every: Used for strong emphasis on individuality and complete inclusion, combining the individual focus of each with the universality of every.
• I considered each and every suggestion carefully.
• each time: Refers to every single instance or occasion.
• The bell rings each time the hour changes.

• every day/week/month/year: Denotes regular, recurring intervals.
• She attends class every day.
• every other: Indicates alternating intervals, skipping one between each instance.
• The committee meets every other Tuesday.
• every single: Adds strong emphasis to every, stressing absolute completeness.
• He ate every single piece of cake.
• every now and then / every so often: Means occasionally or sometimes.
• We visit the beach every now and then.
• everywhere: Implies in all places.
• Her new song is popular everywhere.

• all the time: Means continuously or always.
• He complains all the time about his commute.
• all over: Indicates spread throughout an area or on every surface.
• There were documents all over the desk.
• all day/night long: Refers to the entire duration of a day or night.
• They talked all night long about their future plans.
• all in all: Means considering everything; on the whole.
• All in all, it was a very productive week.
• all sorts of / all kinds of: Refers to many different types or varieties.
• The store sells all sorts of exotic fruits.
• all of a sudden: Means suddenly, without warning.
• All of a sudden, the lights went out during the storm.

The grammar follows the underlying conceptual emphasis. Both each and every function by momentarily singularizing the items in a group. Each distributes an action or quality to individual members, one by one. Every universalizes a statement across all members of a category, considering each instance as part of that universal truth. Because the focus is on one (singular) instance at a time, or the conceptual one (singular) for a general rule, the verb form remains singular to maintain agreement with this conceptual unit.

You must use of the (or a possessive like of my, of her) with each when it is followed by a plural noun that refers to a specific, identifiable group (e.g., each of the students, each of her ideas). For every, you cannot say every of the. Instead, you use every one of the when referring to a specific plural group (e.g., every one of the employees, every one of my suggestions). With all, the of the construction is often optional when modifying a general noun (e.g., all (of the) children, all (of the) water), but it becomes more common, and often necessary, when a determiner (like my, these, those) precedes the noun, or when referring to specific parts of a whole (all of that cake).

Yes, each and all can function as pronouns. When each acts as a pronoun, it refers back to a previously mentioned plural noun and takes a singular verb (e.g., The athletes finished the race, and each was exhausted.). When all acts as a pronoun, its verb agreement depends on whether it refers to people (plural verb: All were invited.) or things/uncountable concepts (singular verb: All was lost.). Every generally does not function as a pronoun on its own; instead, the phrase every one is used pronominally (e.g., She checked the answers, and every one was correct.).

The fundamental difference lies in their emphasis and scope. Each emphasizes the individual members of a group more distinctly and separately, as if you're taking them one by one. It's preferred for smaller, more definite groups where individual actions or characteristics are important, or for situations involving only two items. Every provides a broader, more general or universal view of the group, stating that something applies to all members without exception, often for larger or indefinite groups. For example, if you have five books, you might say Each book has a different cover. (emphasizing the unique cover of every single book). If you're talking about books in general, you might say Every book on this topic is interesting. (making a general statement about the category).

The phrase each and every is primarily used for strong emphasis. It combines the individual focus of each with the universality of every to stress that absolutely no exception exists, and that every single individual unit is included. It often carries a more formal or rhetorical tone, but is also used in everyday speech to add heightened impact (e.g., I specifically told each and every one of them to arrive on time.). This construction is about making an assertion undeniably comprehensive. It is not typically used for simple, factual statements where each or every would suffice.