“Each and every one of you” is one of those phrases that makes sense until you start thinking about it. For instance, does it single people out or address everyone, and should we use it in a positive or a negative context? Let’s break down this common expression.
The phrase “Each and every one of you” specifies the individual members of a group. It contains the modifiers “each” and “every” and a noun, “one,” to emphasize that the message is for every single person in the group, not just the group. You can use it to emphasize the significance of each person that makes up a group: “I appreciate each and every one of you.”
Read on to know whether we wrote this article for “each and every one of you” or for “each and everyone of you.”
What Does “Each and Every One of You” Mean?
The idiomatic phrase “each and every one of you” personalizes the message to each individual member of a group. Using it assumes the speaker is addressing more than one person and that all of those people share a commonality, which makes them a group (source).
The members of the group may be employees of a business, students of a teacher, or members of a family. Regardless of the commonality that brings the group together, someone must address “each and every one of you” to a group made up of more than one member.
Though “each and every one of you” must address a group, a speaker utilizes it to recognize each individual’s role.
For a teacher to say, “I enjoy teaching each and every one of you” is to emphasize that she knows and enjoys each of her students individually, not just teaching students in general. Further, “our employees made this business possible” is less personal than “each and every one of you makes this business possible.”
Using “each and every one of you” communicates that you recognize the contributions and presence of each individual member of a group. Moreover, this phrase implies that the group would not be the same without one of those individuals.
When Can You Use “Each and Every One of You”?
If the primary purpose of “each and every one of you” is to personalize a message to the members of a group, then you can appropriately use it to express gratitude, need, or frustration with those members. You should utilize “each and every one of you” when you wish to emphasize your recognition of each individual’s role.
When Expressing Gratitude to Individuals Within a Certain Group
You may use “each and every one of you” when expressing deep gratitude towards a group of people who give you gifts or show up to your event. For example, a bride may say, “I want to thank each and every one of you for making our day so special” to the guests at her wedding.
You can also utilize “each and every one of you” to communicate that you recognize the role each person on a team played in completing a project, an accomplishment, or an event. For example, a team leader could say, “I want to thank each and every one of you for being a part of this endeavor” at a celebration ceremony.
When Expressing a Need for the Individuals in a Group
We may use “each and every one of you” to express a need for each person to contribute to something or attend an event now or in the future.
For instance, a manager could say, “I need each and every one of you researching this topic today” in the present or “I will need each and every one of you at the office next week” for the future.
When Expressing Thorough Frustration With Members of a Group
You may wield “each and every one of you” to emphasize the role each person of a group played in a failure or a disappointment. For example, an upset business owner may tell multiple offenders, “I am going to sue each and every one of you for destroying my shop!”
Parents disciplining their children may employ the phrase “each and every one of you” to remind their children that each will have consequences for their actions: “each and every one of you will be grounded for a month for shaving the dog.”
Using “each and every one of you” in a negative way communicates that no one involved will escape blame or punishment.
In What Context Can You Use “Each and Every One of You”?
You can utilize it in a formal address to a group centered around some commonality or in an informal message to a close-knit group you belong to. You can also wield this term to reflect the thoroughness of your anger with a group.
Formal Occasions
You can employ “each and every one of you” in formal speeches or messages to a group. It is an efficient way to personalize the message to each person without having to add names or titles.
A speaker will most likely use “each and every one of you” in a speech that celebrates an accomplishment or commemorates an event.
Close-Knit Group
Though you can use it in formal speeches, you may also use “each and every one of you” to communicate gratitude or recognition within a close-knit group. Such groups are likely family or friends of the speaker: “each and every one of you guys is ridiculous.” The emphasis here is on the silliness of each member.
Judgment, Blame, or Threats
You can also use “each and every one of you” to single out the roles that each individual played in an unfortunate outcome. This may look like a teacher scolding her unruly class or a politician blaming the incompetent members of his team.
Is It Grammatically Correct to Say “Each and Everyone of You”?
Is it grammatically correct to say “each and everyone of you” or “each and every one of you”? Tricky as it may be, the meaning of the phrase itself tells us the answer.
“Everyone” is an indefinite pronoun that does not specify anyone in particular, as we learn from “Everyone’s or Everyones: Differences, Proper Use, Meaning.”
“I want to thank everyone” is to thank the group, whereas “I want to thank each and every one of you” is to thank each person.
How Do You Use “Each and Every One of You”?
The thing to remember when using “each and every one of you” is never to break up the idiom. You may not say, “I want to thank each friend and every one family member.” However, you may replace the pronoun “one” with the members’ name: “I want to thank each and every family member.”
Grammatically, you should use “each and every one of you” as a noun phrase. Noun phrases can do whatever a noun does as the subject, object, indirect object, or subject complement in a sentence.
| Subject | Each and every one of you has made my day special. |
| Direct Object | I want to thank each and every one of you. |
| Indirect Object | I will give each and every one of you a gift. |
| Subject Complement | The future is each and every one of you. |
Using “Each and Every One of You” in a Full Sentence
What about the subject-verb agreement here: should you use “is” or “are” with “each and every one of you”? As we discussed earlier, “each and every one” refers to each individual within the group. Thus, we will use the singular “is” to pair with the meaning of “one.”
Some of you may be quick to say that we ought to pair “you” with “are” in both singular and plural forms. In which case, “each and every one of you are ridiculous” is still referring to members of the whole, but it flows better to have “you are.”
However, the problem with this argument is that the “you” in this phrase is actually the object of a preposition: “of you.” The object of a preposition will never determine subject-verb agreement.
For example, in the sentence, “the statutes of the law are important,” the subject “statutes” and the verb “are” must agree, while the prepositional phrase simply clarifies the subject.
So, you should pair “each and every one of you” with the singular “is” as the subject is singular for each one. Therefore, we must say, “each and every one of you is ridiculous” to maintain the proper subject-verb agreement.
“Each and Every One of You” as Subject and Object
“Each and every one of you” is a noun phrase. Therefore, you could use it anywhere you would use a noun: subject, direct object, indirect object, and subject complement.
| Subject | Each and every one of you has come a long way. |
| Direct Object | I love each and every one of you. |
| Indirect Object | I will make each and every one of you a cupcake. |
| Subject Complement | The church is each and every one of you. |
Make sure that you maintain subject-verb agreement when using “each and every one of you” as a noun phrase. You can check yourself by replacing the whole phrase with “each person.”
When Not to Use “Each and Every One of You”?
So when should you not use “each and every one of you”? You shouldn’t use it when talking to one person, in reference to the group itself, or when addressing complete strangers. Moreover, you should not use emphasis phrases like this one more than once in a message.
You shouldn’t use “each and every one of you” when talking to one person. It is a phrase designed to personalize your message to each individual within a group. You should also avoid using it when addressing the group as a whole. If you wish to speak of or to the whole group, you could say “all of you,” “everyone,” or “you guys.”
Generally speaking, it is not appropriate to use “each and every one of you” if you do not have any personal connections to the members of the group.
For a passer-by to walk into a party and say, “each and every one of you is too loud,” would be uncomfortable. That passer-by would be blaming individual strangers rather than the party for being noisy.
Emphasis phrases like “each and every one of you” should be used sparingly. Using it once within a speech or other spoken context is enough to make your point. If you absolutely must repeat the emphasis on recognizing individual members of the group, then use a synonym.
What Can You Use Instead of “Each and Every One of You”?
Perhaps you do not have room to use a long phrase like “each and every one of you,” or maybe you have already used it in your speech. It is helpful to remember that this phrase is basically a more forceful way to say “each” (source). Here is a list of common synonyms for “each and every one of you.”
- Each [one] of you – “I want to thank each of you for donating.”
- Every single one of you – “I remember every single one of you.”
- Every last one of you – “I’m going to beat every last one of you in League.”
Indefinite Pronoun vs. Noun with Modifier
Should you say “each and every one of you” or “each and everyone of you”? As we stated earlier, the purpose of this phrase is to single out individuals that make up the group to personalize the message. In “Everyone Is or Everyone Are: Which Is Correct?”, we learn that “everyone” is a singular indefinite pronoun we use to address the whole group.
If “everyone” is an indefinite pronoun, then what is “each and every one”? “Each” is a determiner that specifies the individual persons or things in a group (source). In contrast, the determiner “every”draws attention to the group as a whole (source).
This article was written for strategiesforparents.com.
“One” functions as a pronoun that stands in place of a noun antecedent either specified or implied in the surrounding context. You can replace the “one” in “each and every one” with whatever you call the individuals in your group. For example, “each and every one of my friends is weird.”
Final Thoughts
So what did you learn? You’ll use the idiomatic phrase “each and every one of you” to reflect the recognition of each individual within a group for the role they play in that group. You can use it in a range of contexts, particularly for formal ones. When wielded in a negative context, “each and every one of you” signifies thorough judgment.
You ought to use this nifty, singular idiomatic phrase sparingly, though, to maintain its significance. To overuse it would be to water down its meaning. Hopefully, this article is helpful for each and every one of you!