Episode 66: Each Person, Every Moment

each/every (individual emphasis) — Anne Frank, 1944 (B1-B2)

Grammar Box

Meaning: “Each” and “every” both mean “all members individually,” but with subtle differences. “Each” emphasizes individuals separately; “every” emphasizes the group as a whole.

Form: Each/Every + singular noun + singular verb. “Each person has” not “have.” Can use “each of” + plural noun. “Every” cannot follow “of.”

Example 1: “Each student received individual feedback on their writing.” (Emphasis on separate individuals.)

Example 2: “Every day brought new challenges during the war.” (Emphasis on all days as a complete period.)

Common mistake: Wrong: “Every of the students passed.” Better: “Each of the students passed” or “Every student passed.” (Every cannot follow “of.”)

The Challenge

Luna compared two sentences. “Professor, ‘Each person matters’ and ‘Every person matters’ — they seem identical. Why do we need both words? What’s the difference?”

The watch pulsed with solemn light. Professor Wisdom appeared, his expression unusually serious. “Sometimes the difference between ‘each’ and ‘every’ is the difference between seeing individuals and seeing a crowd. Let me show you a young girl who understood that each person’s story matters, even when the world was trying to erase every trace of her people.”

The Journey

Amsterdam, August 1944. A hidden annex behind a bookcase where Anne Frank, a 15-year-old Jewish girl who had been hiding from the Nazis for two years, wrote in her diary with determination despite knowing that discovery could come at any moment. Each day brought the same terror, the same silence, the same waiting. Every hour tested their courage in ways that few people could imagine.

Anne was one of eight people hiding in rooms that measured barely 450 square feet total. Each person had their own fears, their own ways of coping with the suffocating confinement. Her father Otto, who tried to maintain normalcy through education and routine. Her mother Edith, who struggled with depression as every month passed without freedom. Her sister Margot, who grew quieter as each week of hiding stretched their nerves tighter. The Van Pels family and dentist Fritz Pfeffer, each bringing their own tensions into the cramped space.

She faced isolation that would have destroyed most teenagers. Each noise from the street below meant potential danger. Every footstep outside could be the Gestapo coming to arrest them. The helpers who brought food risked their lives with each visit, knowing that every German victory made their mission more perilous. Anne couldn’t go outside, couldn’t see friends, couldn’t live the teenage life that every girl her age deserved.

Yet she wrote with extraordinary insight. “I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains,” she recorded. Each entry in her diary captured not just her own experience but the universal human struggle to find meaning in suffering. Every page revealed a mind that refused to let hatred poison her view of humanity, even as every day brought news of atrocities against her people.

The annex smelled of mold and anxiety, that peculiar scent which enclosed spaces develop when fresh air becomes a dangerous luxury. You could hear the whispered conversations that were all they dared during working hours below, the scratching of Anne’s pen recording thoughts that every imprisoned person has felt, the church bells that marked each hour of their captivity. Her words, written in each quiet moment she could steal, would eventually be read by every generation seeking to understand the Holocaust.

The Deep Dive

Each focuses on individual members separately: “Each prisoner had a unique story.” You’re thinking about them one by one. Every focuses on the group as a complete whole: “Every prisoner suffered under the regime.” You’re emphasizing the totality. The difference is subtle but real: “each” is more individual, “every” is more collective.

Grammatically, both take singular verbs despite referring to multiple people: “Each person has their story” (not “have”). “Every day brings challenges” (not “bring”). You can say “each of the students” but NOT “every of the students” — instead say “every student.” This is because “each” can be a pronoun standing alone or with “of,” while “every” must always have a noun directly after it.

Each can also come after the subject: “The students each received a book” or “They each contributed ideas.” Every cannot do this — you cannot say “The students every received a book.” When emphasizing individual actions or possessions, “each” is more natural: “Each child held their parent’s hand” sounds more personal than “Every child held their parent’s hand,” though both are grammatically correct.

More Examples

History: “Each concentration camp had its own horrors; every camp represented humanity’s capacity for organized evil.”

Science: “Each cell in your body contains complete DNA instructions; every cell uses only the genes it needs for its specific function.”

Everyday: “Each member of the team brings different strengths; every member contributes to our overall success.”

Formal: “Each application will be reviewed individually; every applicant deserves fair consideration regardless of background.”

Informal: “Each time I visit, the place looks different; every visit brings some new surprise or discovery.”

Contrast: “Each person is unique” (emphasizing individuals) vs. “Every person deserves respect” (emphasizing universal principle).

Practice & Reflection

Exercises:

1. Fill in the blank: “_____ student in the class has their own learning style and pace.”

2. Correct the mistake: “Every of the diary entries revealed Anne’s remarkable insight and maturity.”

3. Choose and explain: Which emphasizes individual experiences more?
   a) “Every Holocaust survivor has a story to tell.”
   b) “Each Holocaust survivor has a story to tell.”

4. Rewrite: Change “each” to “every” and explain how the meaning shifts: “Each generation must learn these lessons.”

5. Compare: What’s the difference? “They each received a prize” vs. “Every one of them received a prize.”

6. Your reflection: Write two sentences about daily habits — one using “each” to emphasize individual days, one using “every” to emphasize the routine as a whole.

Answer Key:
1. Each or Every (both work; “each” emphasizes individuals more)
2. Change to “Each of the diary entries” or “Every diary entry” (every cannot follow “of”)
3. (b) emphasizes individuals more — “each” focuses on separate stories
4. “Every generation must learn these lessons” — shifts from individual generations to all generations as a continuous whole
5. First emphasizes individual receiving; second emphasizes the complete group coverage
6. Check: Does “each” sentence emphasize individual days? Does “every” sentence emphasize the overall pattern?

The Lesson

Back in her room, Luna wrote carefully. “Each person who read Anne’s diary was changed. Every reader discovered something about human resilience.”

“You understand perfectly,” Professor Wisdom said quietly. “Anne knew that each individual life mattered, even when the Nazis tried to reduce every Jewish person to a number. Her diary survived because she wrote about individuals — her own thoughts, each person in the annex, every small moment of beauty she could find.”

“So ‘each’ helps us see the individual, while ‘every’ helps us see the pattern?” Luna asked.

“Yes,” he replied. “Anne died in Bergen-Belsen just weeks before liberation, but her words ensure that each reader remembers her not as a statistic but as a person. Every generation that reads her diary learns the same lesson: each human life is irreplaceable, and every act of hatred diminishes us all.”