PE-71: Determiners: each, every, both, either, neither, all
Talking about groups with precision — one by one, two together, one of two, or none of them. Plus the singular verbs that surprise everybody.
PE-71: Determiners: each, every, both, either, neither, all
Uzbek handles groups with a small set of words: har bir, ikkisi ham, hech qaysi. English has more of them, and — here is the part that catches learners — several of them take a singular verb even though they clearly talk about many people. "Everybody is here." Let's sort them all out.
In this lesson you will learn
- every vs each — the group and the individual
- both / either / neither — the words for exactly two
- all and none
- Which of them take a singular verb
1. every and each
Both mean "all of them, considered one at a time", and both take a singular noun and verb. The difference is where your attention is.
every — the whole group
- Every student has a book.
- I go there every day.
- Used for 3 or more.
each — one by one
- Each student has a different book.
- She gave each child a sweet.
- Can be used for 2.
Every pupil was present, and the teacher checked each notebook carefully.
Har bir oʻquvchi hozir edi va oʻqituvchi har bir daftarni sinchkovlik bilan tekshirdi.
Singular nouns (pupil, notebook) and a singular verb (was) — even though many people are involved.
2. The -body / -one / -thing words
Everybody, everyone, somebody, nobody, anything — all of them take a singular verb.
Everybody is ready. — Nobody knows the answer. — Everything was perfect.
Hamma tayyor. — Hech kim javobni bilmaydi. — Hammasi mukammal edi.
In speech people say everybody has their book — the pronoun goes plural even though the verb stays singular.
3. both, either, neither — the words for two
1both — the two together
Both books are good. (plural verb!)
2either — one of the two
Either book is fine. (singular)
3neither — not one of them
Neither book is interesting. (singular, already negative)
4The pairs
both … and · either … or · neither … nor
Both Afsona and Jasur passed. — We can go either today or tomorrow. — Neither Sherbek nor his brother was at home.
Afsona ham, Jasur ham oʻtdi. — Yo bugun, yo ertaga borsak boʻladi. — Na Sherbek, na akasi uyda edi.
4. With "of" — and the verb question
Add of when you point at a specific group. The noun then becomes plural, but watch what happens to the verb.
| Structure | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| each / every one of + plural | singular | Each of the boys is tall. |
| either / neither of + plural | singular | Neither of them knows. |
| both of + plural | plural | Both of them are here. |
| all of + plural | plural | All of the students were late. |
| none of + plural | either | None of them was/were ready. |
5. all — and where it sits
All works with plural and uncountable nouns. Note that all alone needs no of; with the or a pronoun, of appears.
All children love stories. — All of the children were tired. — All the milk has gone.
Barcha bolalar ertakni yaxshi koʻradi. — Bolalarning hammasi charchagan edi. — Sut butunlay tugagan.
6. Common mistakes
Every students must bring a pen.
Every student must bring a pen.
Both of them is my friends.
Both of them are my friends.
Neither of the answers aren't correct.
Neither of the answers is correct.
Everybody are waiting outside.
Everybody is waiting outside.
All of student passed the exam.
All of the students passed the exam.
Practice
1 Choose: Every child in the class ? (have) a dictionary.
Show answer
has — every takes a singular noun and a singular verb, even though many children are meant.
2 both, either or neither: ___ of my parents speaks English — only my sister does.
Show answer
Neither — it means "not one of the two", and it carries the negative by itself.
3 Correct it: Both of my brother are students.
Show answer
Both of my brothers are students.
After both of the noun must be plural.
4 What is the difference? (a) Every answer is wrong. (b) Each answer is wrong.
Show answer
(a) looks at the group as a whole — all of them, generally. (b) looks at them one by one — I checked them individually.
5 Join with either … or: We can take the bus. We can take a taxi.
Show answer
We can take either the bus or a taxi.
Key words — Kalit soʻzlar
- Determineraniqlovchi soʻz
- Everyhar bir
- Eachhar biri (alohida)
- Bothikkisi ham
- Eitherikkisidan biri
- Neitherhech qaysi biri
- Allhammasi
- Nonehech biri
- Individualalohida, yakka
- Present (there)hozir, mavjud
🎯 Remember this
- every / each + singular noun + singular verb.
- everybody, nobody, everything → singular verb.
- For two: both (plural verb) · either / neither (singular verb).
- neither is already negative — one negative per sentence.
- Pairs: both … and, either … or, neither … nor.