Basic Details
Word: Every
Part of Speech: Determiner
Meaning: Each one of a group, with none left out. It can also mean how often something happens, as in every two days.
Synonyms: each, all
How to Spell Every
Syllables: ev - ery
Tricky part: The middle e is hardly said aloud, so students write evry. The word ends in y, not ey.
Watch out for: evry, everey, evrey
Memory tip: Every is ever + y. If you can spell ever, you only need to add a y.
Idioms and Phrases
- every cloud has a silver lining: something good can come out of a bad situation Example: "Missing the bus was annoying, but every cloud has a silver lining: I met an old friend at the stop."
- every now and then: sometimes, but not often Example: "Every now and then we take the ferry to Elephanta for a picnic."
Usage Examples
Example 1: Every student got a copy of the new timetable.
Example 2: The metro to Noida comes every ten minutes in the evening.
Example 3: Dadi waters every plant on the balcony before breakfast.
Fun Fact
Every grew out of two Old English words, aefre aelc, which meant ever each.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Our coach makes the whole team run five rounds of the school ground evry morning before practice, even on the hottest days of May.
a) coach
b) evry
c) hottest
d) ground
Show answer
b) evry. Every keeps the e of ever: e-v-e-r-y.
Word Makeup
Choose the correctly spelt compound word:
a) somwhere
b) wheelchare
c) anywere
d) everywhere
Show answer
d) everywhere. Everywhere joins every and where with no letter lost; the others drop or change a letter.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to every as used in the sentence:
Every child in the class must bring a signed form by Friday.
a) some
b) each
c) few
d) no
Show answer
b) each. Each, like every, leaves nobody out of the group.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. 'The bus comes every twenty minutes' means the bus ____.
a) comes once in each twenty-minute gap
b) comes only once a day
c) comes twenty times an hour
d) never comes on time
Show answer
a) comes once in each twenty-minute gap
2. Choose the sentence where everyday, as one word, is correct:
a) These are my everyday shoes.
b) I go jogging everyday.
c) We practise everyday at five.
d) She phones me everyday.
Show answer
a) These are my everyday shoes.
