Everyone vs Anyone - English In A Minute

Hello, ladies and gentlemen!

Tom here for BBC Learning English.

Today I'm going to explain the difference between

'everyone' and 'anyone'.

When I say 'hello everyone',

I'm talking to all the people in a group

or all the people watching this video.

'Anyone', however, relates to any one individual person

in a group, and we often use it to ask questions.

For example:

Is anyone listening?

Or: Can anyone answer today's question?

Here I'm asking if any individuals in the group

are listening.

If the whole group is listening, we can say:

Yes, everyone is listening!

- Which is something that English teachers love to hear.