Anyone vs. Everyone

Anyone vs. Everyone Anyone vs. Everyone Anyone vs. Everyone By Maeve Maddox A promotional announcement for an end-of-year review on NPR set me thinking about the difference between anyone and everyone: The year 2014 has been no fun for just about everyone. The construction struck me as odd because the negative â€Å"no fun† led me to expect anyone, not everyone. Anyone means anybody or any person. It refers to an individual in a group; which one doesn’t matter. Anyone is the usual choice in negative statements and in questions: There wasn’t anyone in the lobby. I didn’t see anyone in the street. The year 2014 was no fun for anyone. Does anyone remember his name? Can anyone learn how to sing? In addition to its use with negatives and questions, anyone is used for emphasis: Anyone could do it, even a caveman. Everyone means everybody or every person. It refers to all the members in a group. Everyone worked late today. Everyone is welcome at the meetings. Her mother asked everyone to contribute to the food drive. The year 2014 was miserable for just about everyone. In some contexts, there is very little difference between anyone and everyone: Correct: Everyone benefits from a just government. Correct: Anyone benefits from a just government. Sometimes they are not interchangeable: Incorrect: The new CEO knows anyone in the business. Correct : The new CEO knows everyone in the business. Note: One could say, â€Å"The new CEO knows everyone who is anyone in the business.† The NPR sentence sounds unnecessarily convoluted to me, but then, it did catch my attention. Some idioms with anyone: anyone’s guess Something that can’t be known until it happens. â€Å"It’s anyone’s guess who will win the election.† anyone’s game An evenly balanced contest. â€Å"Tied in the seventh inning, it was still anyone’s game.† not give anyone the time of day Ignore someone, out of dislike or boorishness. â€Å"The new employee won’t give anyone the time of day.† Idioms with everyone: everyone who is anyone Anyone of any importance. â€Å"We talked with everyone who is anyone in the world of cycling, starting with urban mobility expert Mikael Colville-Andersen.† can’t please everyone No matter what you do, someone will object to it. â€Å"I stopped worrying about what people thought about my art. You can’t please everyone. everyone and his brother an especially large number of people. â€Å"Everyone and his brother had diplomatic representatives there.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Is She a "Lady" or a "Woman"?The Six Spellings of "Long E"Careful with Words Used as Noun and Verb