Main Difference – Everyone vs Everybody
Everyone and Everybody are two indefinite pronouns that refer to an unlimited set of people and specific people. These two words are often used interchangeably although there is a slight difference between Everyone and Everybody based on their usage. The main difference between everyone and everybody is that everyone is slightly more formal than everybody and is more used in the written language. Let’s analyze the meaning and usage of these two pronouns by further analyzing these two words.
This article explains,
1. Grammar, Meaning and Usage of the Word Everyone
2. Grammar, Meaning and Usage of the Word Everybody
3. Key Differences Between Everyone and Everybody
Everyone – Meaning and Usage
Everyone refers to every person. Everyone is an indefinite pronoun in the singular form. Therefore, the verb that follows this pronoun should always remain single.
The following examples will explain how this pronoun is used in sentences.
Everyone wanted to know her secret.
Everyone congratulated them.
I thought I gave earplugs to everyone.
The watchman knew everyone in the building.
Everyone agreed to my suggestion.
The Cambridge Guide to English Usage (2004) states that the forms that end with –one (everyone, someone, anyone, etc.) are more frequent overall, in data from CCAE (Corpus of Contemporary American English) and the BNC (British National Corpus). This means, that everyone is the most commonly used word out of the two words, everyone and everybody.
Keep in mind, however, that everyone (one word) and every one (meaning each one) have two different meanings and cannot be used interchangeably.
He visited every one of those countries – He visited each of these countries.
If every one is replaced with everyone here, the above sentence would make no sense at all.
Everyone is busy.
Everybody – Meaning and Usage
Everybody is also a singular indefinite pronoun. It is a synonym for everyone, i.e., both these two pronouns are interchangeable. However, there is a slight difference between the two words when it comes to usage. Everybody is considered less formal than everyone and, therefore, used less in written language.
According to Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English (1999), the forms that end with –body (everybody, somebody, anybody, etc.) are most common in conversation, and used more freely in American than British fiction.
The sentences below will further explain the use of everybody.
Everybody agreed with him.
It might not work for everybody, but why don’t you try it?
Not everybody got the joke.
I hated her, but everybody else loved her.
Everybody was excited to meet the rockstar.
Difference Between Everyone and Everybody
Formality level
Everyone is considered more formal than everybody.
Everybody is considered less formal than everyone.
Spoken vs Written
Everyone is more common in written language.
Everybody is more common in spoken language.
Derivation
Everyone is derived from combining every and one.
Everybody is derived from combining ever and body.
Reference:
Biber, D et al. (1999) Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Longman
Peters, P. (2004) The Cambridge Guide to English Usage. Cambridge
