Everything is plural or singular. About an interesting feature of the word "somebody" and its relatives. Pronouns in singular and plural

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Question:
My mother and I were discussing the use of “everybody” and “everyone” at dinner this evening. Are these two words interchangeable? Is one more informal than the other? I have a B.A. in English, but oddly have never seen this topic. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
My mom and I discussed at lunch/dinner this afternoon when to say "everybody" and when to say "everyone". Are these words interchangeable? Maybe one is more colloquial than the other? I am a Bachelor of Arts in English [ approx.transl. - those. I studied English at the university for 4 years and received this degree], but oddly enough, I did not see anything on this topic. I would be grateful for any opinion!

Opinion 1:
The only difference I "ve ever noticed is that (at least in British English) EVERYBODY is less formal than EVERYONE. (4 votes)
The only difference I've noticed at all (at least in British English) is that EVERYBODY is less official than EVERYONE (this opinion got 4 upvotes on the site)

Opinions 2:
I"ve always thought that "everyone" is best used when the crowd includes me, and "everybody" is more third person.But that could be completely incorrect.(11)
I have always thought that "everyone" is better to use when you consider yourself among all of them. "Everybody" is better when you think of all of them as "they, but not me" (11 votes)

Opinions 3:
From what I know "everybody" tends to generalize, e.g., Hello everybody --you are not addressing to each person whereas if you use "Hello everyone" each individual is being addressed. (15 votes)
As far as I know, "everybody" has a connotation of generalization, for example: "Hello everybody" - you don't address everyone individually, but when you say "Hello everyone", you address everyone (15 votes)

Opinions 4:
I have been looking in to this and it seems that "everybody" means the group whereas "everyone" means each person in the group. (10 votes)
I dealt with this issue. It seems that "everybody" means the group, while "everyone" means each member of the group (10 votes)

Opinions 5:
Everybody, everyone...excuse me but I think that anyone who claims to discern a meaningful difference between those two is more bored than I am. English has synonyms. It "s ok, we don"t need to be able to split a small piece of a split hair. (2 votes)
Everybody, everyone... forgive me, but I think: whoever pretends to see the semantic difference between these words is a bore even more than I am. There are many synonyms in English. This is fine. And there is nothing for us to further split the already split hair (i.e. invent differences)

Opinion 6:
I think that "everyone" seems more personal than "everybody".
For instance, if you were addressing a group of people and trying to get a point across, you might point to a number of the audience and say "This applies to each and everyone of you". (It's redundant, but we say it that way).
The other instance is addressing the same group of people and merely spreading out your arms and saying "This applies to everybody".
I feel that the impact of your statement is lost on many of the people in the second instance. (3 votes)
I think "everyone" is a more personal word than "everybody".
For example, if you are proving something to a group of people (i.e. every member of the group needs to be convinced), you can say "This applies to each and every one of you" . You need "everyone" here.
And if you just throw up your hands and say: "This applies to the whole group at once", then you need "everybody" (3 votes)

Opinion 7:

The distinction in meaning between "everybody" and "everyone" does not exist. Lucas" answer would be correct for "everyone" versus "every one." "Everyone" and "everybody" are synonyms. Fowler does not distinguish between them. Nor does Garner. who says:

"Because the terms are interchangeable, euphony governs the choice in any given context."

Neither word is inherently more formal than the other. I have seen opinions elsewhere that one or the other is more formal, but I have seen no real substantiation either way. I have found documentation that "everyone" is used more frequently than "everybody" in formal writing, but "everyone" is used more frequently overall, so I don't see this as definitive. (2)

There is no difference in meaning between "everybody" and "everyone". When everyone is addressed in a group, it is not written together "everyone", but separately "every one". "Everyone" and "everybody" are synonyms. From Fowler's and Garnet's references to word usage, they do not differ. For example, Garnett says: "Since these two words are interchangeable, choose the one that sounds more euphonious in each case."
None of these words is more official than the other. I met that either one or the other was called more official, but no convincing evidence was given. I found statistics that in official correspondence "everyone" is used more often, "everybody" less often. But this does not mean anything, because in general everywhere "everyone" is used more often than "everybody". (2 votes)

From the translator: I read all this and remembered the story of Raisa Zakharovna (L. Gurchenko) from the film "Love and Doves" about visiting Vasily's family (A. Mikhailov): "I stumbled upon a wall of misunderstanding, selfishness. Vasily, and these are your children !!. ..You'll have to decide for yourself."
In this case, it would be: "English, and these are your children! ... We'll have to decide everything ourselves"

Words derived from every-, some-, any- and no-
Words derived from every-, some-, any- and no-

There are some two-part words in English, the first part of which contains the pronouns every-, some-, any- and even the particle no-. The principle of using such words intersects with the topic of the previous section. You will need to memorize all the presented words and learn how to use them well.

everybody, somebody, anybody, nobody

These four pronouns refer only to a person. The meaning and application of each will be considered in order.

everybody - everyone

Everybody knows where you work- Everyone knows where you work
Everybody is waiting for them - Everyone is waiting for them

Pay attention to the fact that this and other similar pronouns have the form of the third person singular (he, she). If necessary, the verbs must be put in this form.

Don't say: Everybody know or Everybody are waiting.

Everyone left the cafe and went to the square

somebody - someone, somebody (in statements)

Somebody told me that you were ill- Someone told me that you are sick
I'm looking for somebody to share a flat- I'm looking for someone to rent an apartment together

The pronoun somebody is used in the same cases as the separate some - in affirmative sentences.

Say it yourself:

Someone calls me every night

anybody - somebody (questions and negatives)

Does anybody know how to get to the stadium?- Does anyone know how to get to the stadium?
Is anyone home? - Is there anyone at home?

I don "t see anybody - I don't see anyone

The difference between somebody and anybody is based on the contrast between some and any (cf. previous section ).

Don't say: I don't see somebody.

Say it yourself:

Do you know anyone here?
No I don't know anyone

nobody - no one

Nobody loves me - Nobody loves me
Nobody said a word - Nobody said a word

Say it yourself:

Nobody believes you

Since nobody already carries a negation, the verb in the sentence will be in the affirmative form to prevent double negation. Literally, such sentences will be translated into Russian as follows: Nobody loves me or Nobody believes you.

Now try to translate the following sentences into English by yourself by choosing the correct pronoun:

Are you inviting someone to the party?
Everyone wants to know English, but no one wants to learn it
Someone is waiting for you at the door

The four considered pronouns have words that duplicate them: everyone, someone, anyone and no one, respectively. They are similar in both design and meaning.

Everyone is happy = Everyone is happy
Someone is waiting for you = Someone is waiting for you
Does anyone speak Spanish here? = Does anyone speak Spanish here?
Nobody understands us = No one understands us

From the examples, you can see that the pronoun no one is really written separately, unlike all other words.

In fact, we said a little superficially that words with roots -body and -one are similar. In terms of meaning, they are very similar, but still some subtleties in their difference can be distinguished. For example, everybody is closer in meaning to the Russian "everything", and everyone is closer to the Russian "everyone". And if we want to put the preposition of after such pronouns, then it is more correct to use words with the root -one.

Everyone of you is so kind to me- Each of you is so kind to me.
Can anyone of them turn the light on?- Can any of them turn on the light?

Instead of no one , however, in the case of the preposition of, its modified version - none will be used.

None of us is able to alter the history- None of us can change history

Say it yourself in English:

Everyone needs a good teacher
Do any of you know Peter?
I think none of us know Peter?

everything, something, anything, nothing

If the pronouns with the roots -body and -one mean people, then the words with the root -thing mean inanimate objects.

everything - everything

I "m tired of everything - I'm tired of everything

something - something, anything, something (statements)

I need to tell you something - I need to tell you something

anything - anything, anything (questions, denials)

Does she know anything about Ancient Rome? Does she know anything about Ancient Rome?
We don "t hear anything - We don't hear anything

Less commonly, anything can be found in affirmative sentences in the meaning of "anything".

I can give you anything you want- I can give you whatever you want.

nothing - nothing

What's wrong? - What happened?
Nothing - nothing

Say it yourself in English:

Do you see anything?
I don't want to eat anything
I liked everything
What? - Nothing

Other pronouns and adverbs

There are a sufficient number of similar compound words with the pronouns every-, some-, any- and the particle no- in the English language. We will not analyze the rest of the words in detail, but only list some of them. Always remember the difference between some and any .

everywhere - everywhere, everywhere
somewhere - somewhere, somewhere, somewhere
anywhere - anywhere, anywhere
nowhere - nowhere

somehow - somehow
anyhow - somehow

anyway - anyway

To practice, say yourself in English:

Cars are everywhere now
Have you seen Patricia anywhere?
No, I haven't seen her anywhere.
They have nowhere to live
I think we will solve this problem somehow
Can you fix my car somehow?
I will stay here anyway

There are many more similar compound words in English. Only the most common ones have been considered here. Be sure to complete the practical tasks.

Exercises
Exercises

Exercise 1
Say what the following pronouns and adverbs mean

somebody , everything , nobody , anybody , anything , something , everyone , nothing , somewhere , everywhere , somehow.

Exercise 2
Translate sentences from English into Russian

1. They don't believe anyone;
2. She told that she loved someone, but didn't tell his name;
3. Yesterday my boss got angry and went somewhere in the middle of the meeting;
4. Will your parents go anywhere on holiday this summer?
5. I have nowhere to go;
6. We have nothing to tell you;
7. no one came to my birthday party;
8. Everybody forgot to pay the bills except me;
9. I had to tell you something very important;
10. Could you recommend me anybody to make me a haircut?

Exercise 3
Translate the sentences into English

Body

1. Will anyone watch this movie?
2. Nobody will watch this movie;
3. Everyone wants to sleep;
4. We didn't want to disturb anyone.

1. I will listen to each of you;
2. Are you going to call someone?
3. Nobody can play better than you;
4. None of you can win this game;
5. Someone is screaming in the street.

Thing

1. Is there anything in this bag?
2. There is nothing in this bag;
3. I have nothing to tell you;
4. I love spring. Everything is so fresh and green.

Where

1. Mike can't find the keys anywhere;
2. You must look for them somewhere else;
3. She would like to live somewhere in Europe.

Most textbooks offer an analysis of the topic of the singular and plural by category of parts of speech: noun, verb, pronoun. We have prepared for you an unusual excursion into the world of numbers. Today we’ll talk about the most common cases and the rules of “multiplication” in general, consider similar in appearance, but different in grammatical functions, changes in different parts of speech, as well as some exceptions (sometimes it seems that English is one big exception), and we will try to apply all this in the "natural environment".

Singular in English ( singular/sg) designates or characterizes one subject:

a game
-self
this/that
he loves

Plural (plural/pl) is used when the number of items is more than one:

two cups of coffee
-selves
these/those
they love

Ending -s/ -es

The ending -s- is one of the most common surviving endings in English and is an indicator of number. If a word ends in a hissing sound s/ ss/ x/ sh/ ch, it acquires the ending -es(this is due to a more convenient pronunciation and does not visually lead to a heap of hissing):

to match - it matches
to wash - she washes
a fox - foxes
a dress - dresses

From the examples above, you can see that:

he loves- singular
two cups- plural

The question arises - why?
The thing is that in the examples above, the ending -s- appears in different parts of speech.
The number category of verbs is active only in the present tense. The exception is to be in the temporary form Past Simple (was/were).
In this way at verbs the ending -s/ -es indicates the use of the singular.

e.g.
Pl. vs. Sg.
we go - she goes
I spell - he spells(it is worth noting that in Present Simple the pronoun I makes grammatical connections according to the plural principle with verbs and has a special form to be).
they say - it says

Nouns the reverse principle applies. The ending is an indicator of plurality.

eg.
Sg. vs. Pl.
a ticket - tickets
a bus - buses
a college - colleges

Words that end in -y-

The principle of change / non-change -y- operates in English regardless of the part of speech. It should be remembered:

* if -y- is preceded by a vowel, in the plural, the ending -s- is added to the word, and the letter -y- is retained:

a ray - rays
to buy - she buys

* if -y- is preceded by a consonant, in the plural the letter -y- is changed to -ie-, followed by a plural ending:

to try - he tries
sky - skies

Now let's talk about special cases of changing the number, characteristic only for a certain part of speech.

Nouns in singular and plural

In addition to the cases that we considered earlier, there are “special” numerical formations.
1. Changing the word form.
There are a number of words that form the plural form by changing the root vowels, sometimes the change affects the entire word form. These examples are not numerous. They are often singled out as exceptions. Let's list them:

man - men(and derivatives - fireman - firemen/ policeman - policemen)
woman/ˈwumən/ – women/ˈwɪmɪn/ (and derivatives - policewomen)
tooth-teeth
foot - feet
goose-geese
mouse - mice
louse-lice
child - children
ox-oxen

Also in English there are a number of nouns that are written and pronounced the same regardless of their number - their forms are absolutely identical:

sheep-sheep/ sheep - sheep
swine – swine/ pig - pigs
deer – deer/ deer - deer
grouse – grouse/ black grouse, partridge - black grouse
series-series/ series - series
species - species/ view - views ( species of butterflies- species of butterflies)
corps/kɔːr/ – corps/ type of army

2. Borrowing
There is a fairly capacious category of borrowed words that have retained changes in the endings of their native language when forming plural forms. Most often these are words of Latin and Greek origin:

Sg. vs. Pl.
-us/ -i(cactus - cacti/ˈkæktaɪ/) - cactus
-on/ -a(phenomenon - phenomena)
-is/ -es(crisis-crises)
-um/ -a(datum - data)
-ex/ -ices (index - indices)
-a/ -ae(formula - formulae)

In colloquial speech, these words do not constitute a daily minimum, but can be found in any situation.

3. “Numeric preferences”
In English, you can find nouns that are used only in the singular or only in the plural. Exceptions again! Most often, these are uncountable nouns or concepts that already include a certain amount in their meaning.

Singular forever. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that these nouns are recommended to be learned and remembered, since they can be found in almost any area of our life, and the principle by which they formed their attachment to the singular is often quite arbitrary.

money
hair(in the meaning of “hair” / can be plural in the meaning of “hair”, “hairs”)
news
information
knowledge
weather
work
advice
bread
furniture
music
progress

Words that lay in their meaning a certain amount ( dozen- a dozen / score- ten / head- when counting cattle by head) both numbers are allowed, but with numerals they are used only in the singular:

three dozen roses

Plural prefer paired items (scissors- scissors, pants- pants, spectacles- glasses, glasses- points, etc.), some geographical names ( The Netherlands, The Phillipines, The High Lands, etc.)

There are words that cannot be grouped, which should only be remembered:

police
people- people (it is possible to use “ a person” in the singular)/ a “ people - peoples” means people - peoples
clothes
contents
wages
riches- wealth
manners
customs
outskirts
proceeds
goods

Verbs in singular and plural

we can - she can
you must - he must

The verb to be has a special relationship with numerical changes. It has specific shapes for each face - am/ is/ are(in present tense) and were/were(in the past time).

we are - he is
they were - it was

Pronouns in singular and plural

In English personal pronouns and their possessive forms have the category of number:
Sg. vs. Pl.
I-we
it - they
he-they
she-they
my - our

You always presented in the plural, although it is possible to meet the singular form Thou/ðaʊ/, which is used when referring to God.
In this case, most pronouns either completely change the word form, or imply a certain number, by analogy with the Russian language:

every- each (sg.)
all- all (pl.)

A special case of plural changes occurs in reflexive and demonstrative pronouns.

Reflexive pronouns contain a morpheme in the word -self, which in the plural will take the form -selves:

myself - myself
yourself - yourselves
himself - theirselves

Demonstrative pronouns also acquire new characteristics in sound and spelling:

this - these
that - those

We wish you intensive entertaining practice and success!

Victoria Tetkina

Today we will return to this topic again and reveal to you a few more secrets, in particular, to find out what number the word is today everybody whether it is identical to "everyone", and when to use somebody.

Everyone or Everybody

I must say that both words: everyone and everybody are interchangeable and mean “every person” (every person), so use whichever you like best.

Everyone or Every One

Google shortcode

Sometimes it happens that the word "everyone" is written separately - this is not a mistake, but absolutely the same thing. True, most prefer to write together, and both pronouns mean "everyone, everyone."

Singular or Plural?

When it comes to indefinite pronouns, experts start arguing about which number everyone and somebody belong to and which verb should follow them.

Although we are considering the pronouns everyone and everybody, the same rules apply to the indefinite pronouns no one, nobody, anyone, anybody, someone, and somebody. Actually, everyone is only interested in one thing - what is the number of these pronouns? Some argue that the word everyone, for example, sounds like "a lot of people", BUT! in grammar land everyone, like other indefinite pronouns, is singular and agrees with the singular verb, e.g.,

In England, it is acceptable to use everyone and everybody with a singular verb and a plural pronoun (for example, “Everyone is here, I can see them!”).

In America, however, things are not so simple, and American linguists object to the use of plural pronouns. their, them, they with indefinite pronouns everybody or everyone. The essence of the problem is that in English there is no word that would refer to a noun in the singular of a neutral gender. Grammarists have previously suggested using the phrase “his or her” as a solution, but not everyone is comfortable saying the following sentence: “Everyone is putting a hat on his or her head.” Therefore, we would not recommend using structures of this type.

Let's talk today about one feature of English, which is not particularly discussed anywhere and therefore can sometimes be completely confusing for students.

To start, please translate one phrase into English,write it down somewhereand then read on. Pay special attention to the translation of the highlighted words.

So, how to say in English: “Whenanyone buyme ice cream, I read Shakespeare to him”?

Translated?

***

So the thing is, words that end in-body or -one (somebody, anyone, everyone, nobody, etc.) have one verystrange property.

On the one hand, after these words, the British put verb in singular. That is, for example,in present timeadd an ending to the verb-s (as always after he, she, it):

Somebody want s to speak to you over there. - There is someone who wants to talk to you. (not somebody wants , and somebody wants ).

Nobody likes to lose. - Nobody likes to lose. (not nobody like , and nobody likes ).

Yes, there is a slight glitch here. If we keep talking about this very “ somebody ', then we call it ' they ” (not “he”!) and say the verbin plural(in the example five lines below - “go”, not “ goes") !

So it's correct to say:

***

Here are more examples:

Anyone can learn to cook if he looks like a month to culinary school. -Anyone can learn to cook if they go to a cookery school for a month.

Someone is calling! - Tell to him that I'm not at home! - Someone's ringing the doorbell! - tell them I'm not in.

Such examples include the title of Sting's song - If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free - “If you love someone, give to him (or in the case of Sting, after all “ her”) freedom”.

***

Now let's do a little exercise. Translate these phrases into English. Then check yourself for the keys.

Remember: it is very useful to read the keysout loud several times. And also very helpful.back to this exercisea few more times on other days - only then you will not only memorize the material, but will be able to say these phrasestruly free.So please don't be lazy! The reward for the work will be very nice.

Translate into English.

1 If anyone will lose my umbrella, I will give him box of dried mango

2 In Japan, everyone loves themselves To look after with their fishes.

3 Nobody likes when their car breaks down.

4 Has anyone finished their test yet?

5 Do you hear these sounds?Someone adjusts his trombone.

6 Who is calling? If a it's someone from the bank, tell him that I will pay next week.

7 See? The guest workers smile and nod, butno one understands what he needs to do.

Mini Dictionary

give - give

a box of dried mangoes - a box of dry mangoes

look after the fish - look after the fish (and not fishes)