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Each versus Every, a la Shmoop. Every person in America has a favorite superhero...

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...and each person has a different reason for that preference.

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If you don't have a favorite superhero, then you're the exception to the rule.

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It doesn't mean, however, that you can get out of contemplating the each versus every

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grammar rule with the rest of the class. Here's how the rule works...

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...each and every mean the exact same thing.

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For example, each candy bar tastes delicious.

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Every candy bar tastes delicious. Now, there is an exception to this rule. If

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you want to emphasize an individual item or person, use each.

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If you want to emphasize a larger group, use every.

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So, each person in the group saw a different movie on Saturday.

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Every movie was sold out Saturday night. You may have noticed that all of our examples

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use singular verbs.

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That's because each and every are singular nouns.

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Let's look at one more set of examples.

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Each toddler in the pool is swimming with a parent.

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Every kid in the pool goes home tired.

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See how the verbs in these two sentences are singular?

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Here's the rule one more time...

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each and every are interchangeable...

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...unless you want to emphasize an individual item or person. Then, you use each.

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If you want to emphasize a larger group, use every.

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Hope that made sense to each and every one of you.

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