Intermediate grammar · Unit 90 · B1

all every whole

Pronouns and determiners

Use everybody and everything rather than all on its own, whole for a complete single thing, every to say how often something happens, and all day or the whole day for a complete period.

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A everybody, everyone, everything and all

Say everybody / everyone and everything, not all on its own. All were pleased and she knows all are not what people say.

all is used in these ways:

Pattern Example
all + noun (all trains, all my money) All my cousins were there.
all of + us / you / them All of us were there.
we / you / they ... all ... We were all there.
all about ... She knows all about gardening.
all ... = the only thing(s) All I've had today is a yoghurt.
  • Everybody was pleased. / Everyone was pleased. (not All were pleased)
  • She thinks she knows everything. (not knows all)
  • The wedding was a shambles. Everything went wrong. (not All went wrong)
  • All my cousins were there.
  • All of us were there.
  • We were all there.
  • She knows all about gardening.
  • All I've had today is a yoghurt. (= the only thing I've had)

B whole and all

whole means complete, entire. It is used mostly with singular nouns, and needs the, my, a or similar before it.

Do not normally use whole with uncountable nouns such as water, food, money, information. Use all instead.

Singular noun Uncountable noun
I watched the whole film. I read all the information.
  • Have you watched the whole series? (= all of it, not just some episodes)
  • My grandad spent his whole life in Barnsley.
  • I was starving, so I ate a whole loaf of bread.
  • Have you used all the money I lent you? (not the whole money)
  • Please read all the information before you sign. (not the whole information)

C every day, all day, the whole day

Use every to say how often something happens: every day, every ten minutes, every six months.

all day or the whole day means the complete day, from start to finish. Say all day, not all the day, and all week, not all the week.

all the time every time
always, without stopping each time, on every occasion
  • On holiday we went swimming every day. (not all days)
  • The trains are very frequent. There's one every ten minutes.
  • We only see my aunt every six months or so.
  • We spent all day at the zoo. / We spent the whole day at the zoo.
  • Lewis was very quiet. He hardly spoke all evening. / ... the whole evening.
  • My neighbours argue all the time. (= continuously)
  • Every time I wash the car, it rains. (= on each occasion)

D every and everybody take a singular verb

every, everybody, everyone and everything are singular, so the verb is singular. After everybody and everyone, use they / them / their, which is grammatically singular in this job and has been for centuries.

  • Every table in the restaurant was booked.
  • Everybody has gone home. (not have gone)
  • Everyone said they'd had a lovely evening.

Exercises

90.1 Complete the sentences with all, everything or everybody / everyone.

  1. It was a lovely wedding. Everybody enjoyed themselves.

    It was a lovely wedding. Everybody enjoyed themselves.

  2. All I've had today is a cup of tea.

    All I've had today is a cup of tea.

  3. makes mistakes. Nobody is perfect.

  4. Nothing's different. is exactly as it was.

  5. Jo told me about her trip to Iceland. It sounds amazing.

  6. Could put their phones away, please?

  7. Why do you only care about winning? Winning isn't .

  8. I'm worn out. I want is a hot bath.

  9. When the lights went out, started shouting.

  10. Ben didn't explain. he said was that he'd be late.

  11. We never agree. I disagree with he says.

  12. We all did well in the quiz. on our team got a prize.

  13. We all did well in the quiz. of us got a prize.

  14. Why are you so idle? Why do you expect me to do for you?

90.2 Write a sentence with whole. Where words are given in brackets, begin with them. For items 8 and 9, write sentences 6 and 7 again using all instead of whole.

  1. I watched the series from the first episode to the last.

    I watched the whole series.

    I watched the whole series.

  2. Everyone in the choir sang beautifully. (The)

  3. Neil bought a large pizza and started eating. When he stopped, there was nothing left. (He ate)

  4. Someone had lost a ring. They looked everywhere, in every room of the house. (They)

  5. Everyone in the Patel family sings. Mr and Mrs Patel sing, and so do all their children. (The)

  6. Liam worked from early in the morning until late at night. (Liam)

  7. Kerry and Dom had a week in Skegness. It was cold from the beginning of the week to the end. (It)

  8. (6) Use all. (Liam)

  9. (7) Use all. (It)

90.3 Complete the sentences using every with one of these.

twenty minuteseight hoursten yearstwo weeksthree months

  1. The tram service is very good. There's a tram every twenty minutes.

    The tram service is very good. There's a tram every twenty minutes.

  2. Ella has a chest infection. She has to take her tablets .

  3. In Britain there is a national census .

  4. The council only empties our bins .

  5. Pam lives in Bristol, but she visits her sister in Glasgow .

90.4 Which is right? Choose the correct form.

  1. Have you used ___ (the whole milk / all the milk)?

    all the milk

    Have you used all the milk?

  2. The café is open ___ (every day / all days) except Monday.

  3. I'm shattered. I've been on my feet ___ (all the day / all day).

  4. The storm was dreadful. ___ (Whole roof / The whole roof) was blown off.

  5. ___ (Every time / All the time) I hear that song, I think of my dad.

  6. The dog next door barks ___ (every time / all the time). It never stops.

  7. On the walk home, ___ (all my shopping / my whole shopping) got soaked.

See also