When showing appreciation for a group of people, we should make sure to express ourselves heartfully, respectfully, and sincerely. For example, is it grammatically correct to say “Thank you, everyone” in such circumstances?
It is grammatically correct to say “Thank you, everyone” as a minor sentence. When you’re addressing a group of people directly, they will understand that you are the subject ‘I” and that they are the object “You,” while “everyone” emphasizes that the “you” is plural.
Read on for a deep dive into the meaning of this expression of gratitude, pronoun usage, and more!
What Does “Thank You, Everyone” Mean?
“Thank you, everyone” is an expression of gratitude that we can use to thank a group of people, which is usually greater than two.
The Phrase “Thank You”
“Thank you” is an expression of gratitude, meaning “I thank you” (source). In many languages, its equivalent is often one of the first and most important phrases we encounter when first learning the language. For example, if someone does something nice for us or is helpful, the polite response is to thank them for their actions.
We can consider the expression “thank you,” in many cases, to be an interjection, a type of phrase such as “Ouch!” or “Wow!” that we exclaim to communicate an emotion, such as pain or awe (source).
Is It Correct to Say “Thank You, Everyone”?
It is not only grammatically correct to say “thank you, everyone,” it is a friendly and polite thing to say to a group of people after they’ve been helpful to us in some way.
Still, “Thank you, everyone” can be confusing since it contains two different pronouns and omits one. The word “you” is a personal pronoun, while “everyone” is an indefinite pronoun. Meanwhile, we generally skip the subject pronoun “I.” So you are saying, in effect, “I thank you, each and every one of you.”
It is correct to say “thank you, everyone,” but only when we thank more than one person in a casual or semi-formal setting. The pronoun “you” in this context lends itself to the multiple people that the word “everyone” refers to because “you” can be singular or plural.
Pronouns
There are seven different categories of pronouns, but for this article, we’re going to cover two of them. Those categories are personal pronouns and indefinite pronouns.
The Personal Pronoun “You”
Personal pronouns are pronouns such as “I/me,” “you,” “she/her,” “he/him,” “it,” “we/us,” and “they/them.” Like all pronouns, we use them to take the place of the name of a noun, though we use personal pronouns to refer to a person or thing that, through prior context, we’ve designated as the subject we refer to (source).
The word “you” is one of the most basic pronouns that we can call a “personal pronoun.” We use personal pronouns in place of a person’s name so that we don’t have to repeat that person’s name every time (source).
Examples of personal pronouns include “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” “me,” “we.” Personal pronouns fall into first-, second-, and third-person forms.
Example:
- Sara went to the store.
We use the pronoun “you” to refer to another person directly. If we need to use the person we are speaking directly to as the subject of a statement, we say “you” in place of the person’s name (source).
For more information on personal pronouns and the difference between their subject vs. object forms, check out this article, “You and I or You and Me: Understanding the Correct Use of these Pronouns.”
The Indefinite Pronoun “Everyone”
Indefinite pronouns are pronouns such as “anybody,” “everyone,” “someone,” “nothing,” “either,” and “anything.” We can use an indefinite pronoun to refer to a vague or ambiguous number of individuals (source).
How Do You Use “Thank You, Everyone”?
“Thank you, everyone” can function as a declarative statement on its own. However, we can also use it within a larger sentence to provide context and further details.
For example, let’s say a group of friends assist us in painting the living room of our new home. To show our appreciation, we can thank them all. This can take the form of:
Thank you, everyone.
Or
Thank you, everyone, for helping me paint my living room; I really appreciate it.
Adding further details helps to give clarity to the statement and tell the recipient what we are thanking them for, but depending on the situation, it can be self-explanatory.
If our friends came over to help us paint our apartment, we could thank them for help as soon as they arrive or start, as soon as they’ve finished or begin to leave, or mid-way through at any point.
Similarly, we can place “thank you, everyone” at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence or statement.
Thank you, everyone, for coming over and helping me out.
Painting this room would have taken forever to do on my own, so thank you, everyone.
You all helped me so much today, so I‘d like to say thank you, everyone; the garden looks so nice!
Again, we can use “thank you, everyone,” as well as variations of the phrase to begin or end a statement, or we can add it within a statement.
“Thank Everyone” vs. “Thank You, Everyone”
The difference between “thank everyone” and “thank you, everyone” is that one is a declarative statement while the other is imperative.
The Verb “Thank”
We use “thank” as an imperative verb when communicating to someone about a third party. With imperative verbs, we understand that the subject is the addressee, and we often follow the verb with a direct object noun or pronoun indicating to whom they should direct their thanks.
- Thank her for buying you ice cream.
- You should thank them all for stopping by.
Therefore, we will only ever use “thank everyone” if we were telling someone else to show appreciation to a group of people who have helped that person out in some shape or form.
- Thank everyone for the birthday presents!
However, if speaking directly to a group who has helped us, we cannot say “thank, everyone.” Instead, we must add the “you,” or, as we will mention later in the article, we can shorten “thank you” to “thanks.” “Thanks, everyone” is a slightly more casual expression of gratitude.
When Can You Use “Thank You, Everyone”?
We can say “Thank you, everyone” whenever there is reason to express gratitude to a group of more than one person. For example, if we feel that a group of people has been helpful towards us in some way, we can address and thank them all collectively with a “Thank you, everyone.”
In What Context Can You Use “Thank You, Everyone”?
We use “Thank you, everyone” in casual or semi-formal contexts where a group of more than two people has assisted or shown us kindness.
While we must use this term in a group setting, usage can occur in-person or virtually, such as through email or text message, but the recipients should be greater than two.
For example, if it was our birthday and several of our coworkers chipped in funds for a cake, it makes sense that we would feel a sense of gratitude towards the group.
If we wanted to thank everyone, we would not tell one person individually, “Thank you, everyone.” This would not make contextual sense, as we use the plural “everyone” yet only address one person.
Therefore, we should ensure there are multiple recipients of our thanks when we use “Thank you, everyone.”
Using “Thank You, Everyone” in a Full Sentence
“Thank you, everyone” works as a minor sentence on its own. However, we can also say “I thank you, everyone” and then explain what or why we are thanking the group.
- I thank you, everyone; it’s so nice of you to be here.
- I thank you, everyone, for attending this event.
- I thank you, everyone, for supporting me through this time.
- I thank you, everyone, for handling the chores today.
When Not to Use “Thank You, Everyone”
We do not use “Thank you, everyone” to thank a singular person for something. Also, while it’s fine for casual or semi-formal occasions, we generally avoid minor sentences in academic writing.
What Can You Use Instead of “Thank You, Everyone”?
There are several variations of “Thank you, everyone” we can use to show our gratitude towards a group of people, such as “Thank you, everybody” in an informal context or “Thank you, all.”
We can replace the “thank you” portion, the “everyone” portion, or both, and the statement will retain its basic structure, which is the expression of gratitude plus the designated recipient.
If we wanted to shorten the phrase, we could omit the indefinite pronoun, and most people will still understand who we are addressing.
For example, suppose you lose your footing while walking on the sidewalk next to a group of people. If one or two of those people can catch you before you fall, you could tell them, “Thank you.”
However, the importance of “Thank you, everyone” is that we are communicating to several people that we feel thankful towards them. Without signifying the recipient, someone might misinterpret this, or you might appear to be less inclusive of the group at large.
Replacing “Thank You”
The most straightforward change we could make is simply shortening “Thank you” to “Thanks.” “Thanks, everyone” retains the full meaning of the original phrase, but “thanks” is a more casual version of “thank you.”
While this rule isn’t the most strict, it can be helpful to differentiate these two forms by imagining the difference in tone we’d use when speaking with a group of friends or when speaking in front of an audience at a formal event.
“Thanks” is casual and economical, but we would probably want to use a more formal “Thank you” when trying to be formal.
We might also replace “Thank you” with another expression of gratitude. “I appreciate it” is one such example. “Much thanks” is another phrase we can use.
- Thanks, everyone.
- I appreciate it, everyone.
Replacing “Everyone”
If we want to find alternatives for the indefinite pronoun “everyone,” we could use “all.” “Thank you, all” is a common alternative for this phrase.
We can also substitute “everyone” for the names of the individuals we are thanking. Saying a person’s name when we thank them often makes the statement more meaningful and more impactful.
It is grammatically correct to list a group of names as well, and we would simply put the “Thank you” before or after the list of names.
- Thank you, Sara, John, and Anthony.
- Sara, John, and Anthony, thank you.
Can We Say “Thank You One and All”?
You may hear the term “one and all” in rare instances, such as in the phrases “Thank you, one and all,” or “Merry Christmas to one and all.” “One and all” is an idiom that we can substitute for the word “everyone,” but it is an uncommon and old-fashioned phrase we do not normally use in everyday conversation.
Expressions of Gratitude as Minor Sentences
In informal speech and writing, we often use an expression of gratitude with “thanks” or “thank you” as part of a minor sentence. A minor sentence has many features of a regular sentence but lacks certain characteristics belonging to a full sentence, like a subject (source).
“Thank you, everyone” is an example of a simple declarative statement as a minor sentence where there is an implied subject: “[I] thank you, everyone.” For more on minor sentences, check out “Is It Correct to Say ‘Best Wishes’?”
We can also use “Thanks” or “Thank you” as an interjection on its own, which would also qualify as a minor sentence.
Again, interjections are sudden and emotion-fueled words or phrases. They are often solitary units that lack grammatical connection, as they are often a strong utterance interjecting, or interrupting, the regular flow of speech.
While we see many interjections written with exclamation points, many are not as emotional, and we would express them in a mild or mundane manner. For example, we might use “wow” when sarcastic or apathetic.
The Interjection “Thank You”
While growing up, we learn that the polite thing to do is to thank someone if they help us somehow. Because of this, many of us have known automatically to say “thank you” when someone is helpful.
We can consider both “thank you” and “thank you, everyone” to be interjections because they are readily available phrases that we sometimes automatically say when someone does something kind or helpful for us. This article was written for strategiesforparents.com.
Therefore, “thank you, everyone” would count as an interjection if it results from strong emotions such as gratitude, shock, or joy, or it can count as an interjection if the speaker simply utters it on its own as a reply.
Final Thoughts
“Thank you, everyone” is an expression of gratitude that we use to show thanks to a group of people. Usually, this would be a group of more than two people.
“Thank you, everyone” is an interesting phrase because it consists of a verb as well as two different pronouns. “You” is a pronoun we call a “personal pronoun,” while “everyone” is what we call an “indirect pronoun.” Meanwhile, as a minor sentence, it leaves out the subject pronoun “I.”
“Thank you, everyone” can be a form of interjection or utterance we make in moments of strong emotion, such as “ouch” if we are in pain or “wow” if we are interested or in awe.