All vs Every vs Whole
Do you have a minute to spare to learn some English? What's the difference
between 'all', 'every' and 'whole'? Georgina is going to explain. Give us 60 seconds and we'll
give you the English!
Georgina
Hi! I'm Georgina from BBC Learning English. Do you ever wonder about the difference
between all, every and whole? They all have similar meanings, but are used in
different ways.
All means ‘the whole amount of something’. One hundred per cent. It is often followed
by uncountable nouns or plural nouns. He ate all the sugar! All children love sweets.
Every has a similar meaning to all. It means ‘each one without exception’. I go to the
gym every day.
Whole means ‘the complete amount of something’ and is followed by uncountable
nouns or singular nouns. I ate the whole cake. The whole airport is closed.
Bye for now.
All vs Every vs Whole
These three words are very similar in their meanings, but they are used in different
ways. They mean the total amount of something.
Every
Every is usually followed by singular countable nouns. It means 'each one without
exception'.
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
I play video games every day
I have watched every match my team has played
All
The word all is usually followed by plural countable nouns or uncountable
nouns. All means 'the whole amount of something'


All the students are studying for their exams at the moment.
You say that all the time!
Whole
Whole is followed by singular countable nouns or uncountable nouns. It means ‘the
complete amount of something’


I ate the whole dessert really quickly.
I've worked the whole day on this presentation.