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Everything, Anything, Each, Every

Intermediate

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to refer to individual members of broad categories of people/things and to categories as a whole.

Exercise 1

Sentence Practice

Everything

Is everything okay?
Don’t worry, everything will be fine.
Everything is expensive nowadays.

Anything

I don’t know anything about it.
Do you know anything about India?
I will do anything for you.

Each

Each new day is different.
Each of my uncles gave me a gift for my birthday.
Each car should be handled with care.

Every

The bus leaves every hour.
Every boy in the class went to the party.
Everyone (= Every person) has a different interpretation of this painting.

Grammar Focus

Everything

'Everything' refers to all the persons, places or things involved in an action. It is followed by a singular verb.

It looks different.
Everything looks different.

Anything

In an affirmative (positive) sentence, 'anything' means 'all things'.

I will do anything for you. (= I will do all things for you)

In a question, 'anything' means 'something' or 'any thing (even something small or insignificant)':

Is there anything (= even something small) that I can do to help?

In a negative sentence however, 'anything' means 'nothing at all': not + anything = nothing.

I don’t know anything about it. (= I know nothing about it)

Each

We use 'each' to refer to individual things in a set or group: "Each apple costs $1". Since 'each' refers to individual things, it is followed by a singular verb.

Each + singular noun: Each uncle gave me a present for my birthday.
Each of + plural noun: Each of my uncles gave me presents for my birthday.

Every

We use 'every' to refer to a group of similar people or things: "Every library I have been to is quiet". Since it refers to one group, it is followed by a singular verb.

Every boy in the class went to the party. (= all the boys went)
The bus leaves every hour. (= hourly)

Unlike 'each', 'every' does not refer to two things in a set:

There are five fingers on each hand. (= on each of your hands)
There are five fingers on every hand. (= on everyone's hands)

Exercise 2

Sentence Practice

The refrigerator is empty. Alex ate everything.
We were not hungry, so we did not eat anything.
The film was in English, so I could not understand anything they said.
Everything happens for a reason.
As long as you are not doing anything wrong, there is nothing to worry about.
I play with my dog every Saturday morning.
Every difficult situation teaches us something.
Each success has some failure along the way.
Each of the girls was given a gift.
I bought each of them an ice cream.

Exercise 3

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word: everything, anything, each or every. There can be more than one correct answer.

At first, I had a hard time adjusting to the food in India. was so spicy!

dish was spicy.

I wondered, "Is there here that is not spicy?"

I didn't have to eat.

I still don't know about this country.

day, I learn something new about this country.

year, the people celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights.

Exercise 4

Sentence Building

Answer the following questions using everything and anything.

Example

Is there anything you didn't understand? → "I understood everything."

Is there anything you need?
Is there anything you don't know?
Is there anything you can't do?
Is anything wrong?
Is there anything you don't like?
Is there anything you still have to do?
Is there anything you don't eat?
Is there anything you are allergic to?