Cool MateAll vs All of us vs Everyone
When to use each in English, with meaning, register, and examples.
All
High-frequency chunkA1determiner
All of us
Top 5,000 (fairly common)
Everyone
Top 1,000 (very common)A1pronoun
| All | All of us | Everyone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | 🇬🇧 /["/ɔːl/"]/🇺🇸 /["/ɔːl/"]/ | 🇬🇧 //ɔːl əv ʌs//🇺🇸 //ɔl əv ʌs// | 🇬🇧 /["/ˈevriwʌn/"]/🇺🇸 /["/ˈevriwʌn/"]/ |
| Meaning | Everything or everyone, without exception. | Everyone in this group | All people |
| Example | All the students in the class passed the exam. | All of us are excited for the trip next week. | Everyone cheered and clapped. |
| Register | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral |
| How common | High-frequency chunk | Top 5,000 (fairly common) | Top 1,000 (very common) |
| CEFR level | A1 | - | A1 |
| Part of speech | determiner | pronoun | |
| Collocations | all day, all the time, all over, all of us | support all of us, help all of us, all of us together | everyone knows, everyone agrees, everyone is welcome |
| Antonyms | none, part, some | - | no one, nobody |
| Common mistakes | 'All' used without a noun (e.g. saying 'I love all' instead of 'I love all of them')., Confused with 'all of' when it shouldn't be (e.g. 'All of the students came' is correct; 'All students came' is also correct in informal contexts). | Using 'all of our' instead of 'all of us', Confusing with 'all of them' | Confused with 'everybody' — both mean the same but 'everyone' is more formal., Using 'everyone are' instead of 'everyone is'., 'Everyone' is singular, so it should always take a singular verb. |
| Usage notes | Use 'all' in both spoken and written English when referring to the entirety of a group. Avoid using 'all' when referring to a specific subset, as it implies inclusivity. | Use 'all of us' when referring to a group including the speaker. Avoid in formal writing as it may seem too casual. | Used in daily conversation and writing to refer to all people, appropriate in both formal and informal contexts. Avoid in very technical or legal language. |
See it in real clips
Frequently asked questions: All vs All of us vs Everyone
What's the difference between All, All of us, and Everyone?
All: Everything or everyone, without exception. All of us: Everyone in this group Everyone: All people
Can you show an example of each?
All: All the students in the class passed the exam. All of us: All of us are excited for the trip next week. Everyone: Everyone cheered and clapped.
Can I use All, All of us, and Everyone interchangeably?
Not always. All, All of us, and Everyone are related and overlap in some contexts, but they differ in register, how common they are, and usage, so swapping one for another can change the meaning or tone. Check the differences above before substituting.