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'Both' refers to two things; 'all' refers to the entirety of a group; 'every' emphasizes each member individually.
Side-by-side comparison
"Both" is exclusive to two elements. If there are three or more, use "all". It always takes a plural verb.
Both my parents came to the graduation ceremony and sat in the front row.
I have seen both films and I think the first one is much better.
Both options have advantages, so let us vote before deciding.
"All" covers the totality of a group of three or more. "Every" does the same but emphasizes each element one by one; that is why it takes a singular verb.
All the students passed the exam and the teacher was very proud of them.
Every seat in the cinema was taken by the time we arrived.
She reads every night before bed, even if it is just for ten minutes.
Common mistake
- •"Both of the three options" is wrong: "both" is for exactly two elements only.
- •With three or more use "all": "all three options".
- •And "every employees must" is wrong: "every" always takes a singular noun: "every employee must".
Trick to remember it
Exactly two? Use "both". Three or more? Use "all" (the whole group) or "every" (each one individually). "All students passed" = the entire group. "Every student passed" = each student one by one.
Quick rule
- •"Both" = exactly two (+ plural noun).
- •"All" = entirety of three or more.
- •"Every" = each element individually (+ singular noun).
Did you know?
The distinction between "all" (collective) and "every" (distributive) has subtle semantic implications that philosophers of language have studied. "All students passed" emphasises the group result as a collective fact. "Every student passed" emphasises that the truth holds for each member individually. In formal logic this corresponds to the distinction between assertion about a collective set (all) and universal quantification (every).
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
_____ student in the class passed the exam. Not a single person failed.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
_____ of them (Carlos and Ana) passed the exam. They both did really well.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
'All' refers to the total of parts in a set; 'whole' emphasizes the complete entity as an indivisible unit.
'Both... and' connects two elements positively; 'neither... nor' connects them negatively.
'How much' asks about uncountable nouns; 'how many' asks about countable nouns.
'A' is used before consonant sounds; 'an' is used before vowel sounds.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy