Distributive adjective masterclass

This lesson helps us understand what a distributive adjective is, and when to use it in a sentence.

What is a distributive adjective in English?

Distributive adjective definition: a distributive adjective is a word that is used to individually point out a person/thing of a group. It comes before a noun it modifies. It distributes the focus of a group to its individual members.

Here are the distributive adjectives in English:

• Each
• Every
• Either
• Neither
• Both
• Any

ADJECTIVES	USAGE	EXAMPLES
Each	The word ‘each’ as a distributive adjective is used to refer to one (but not specific) member of a group. It is followed by a singular noun.	1. Each member knows their job well. 2. I gave each person a chance to speak. 3. Each packet was made with a lof of love and care. 4. We are very aware of what each member of their team can do.
Every	The word ‘neither’ as a distributive adjective means ‘not out of the two.’ A singular noun also follows it.	1. She comes to me for every small thing. 2. Every part of my body has had surgery. 3. All of us go to Goa every year. 4. We need to take advantage of every opportunity we get.
Either	The word ‘either’ as a distributive adjective is used to refer to one item in a group of two: anyone out of the two items. It is also followed by a singular noun.	1. Each member knows their job well. 2. I gave each person a chance to speak. 3. Each packet was made with a lot of love and care. 4. We are very aware of what each member of their team can do.
Neither	The word ‘neither’ as a distributive adjective means ‘not out of the two.’ A singular noun follows it.	1. Neither girl was at fault. 2. Neither guy belongs to a good family. 3. Neither statement makes any sense. 4. I took inspiration from neither story.
Both	The word ‘both’ as a distributive adjective refers to two items in a list of two. It is followed by a plural noun that it modifies.	1. Both men are very talented. 2. I like both ideas. 3. Both parties are at fault to some extent. 4. I think you should buy both flats.
Any	The word ‘any’ as a distributive adjective refers to one item of the group separately. It is followed by a singular noun that it modifies.	1. I am okay with reading any book. 2. I didn’t have any idea about this. 3. Any person with two hands can do it. 4. I am not scared of any fighter on the roster.

Don’t confuse a distributive adjective with a distributive pronoun!

All these words (each, either, neither, both, any) leaving ‘every’ can also function as a pronoun. When they function as a pronoun, we call them distributive pronouns.

As a pronoun, they stand alone and don’t follow a noun. That’s what makes them different distributive adjectives. Both a distributive pronoun and a distributive adjective look and spell the same, what makes them different is what they do in a sentence. The former refers to a noun and works as a pronoun, and the latter comes before a noun and modifies it like an adjective.

• Each actor in the movie was selected after a series of multiple auditions and screenings. (distributive adjective)
• Each of these has been imported from different countries. (distributive pronoun)

• Select either candidate. They both are skillful. (distributive adjective)
• Both Jon and Jones are skillful. Give me either for this project. (distributive pronoun)

• Neither book is worth reading. (distributive adjective)
• I went through both books, but neither really impressed me. (distributive pronoun)

• I was born in India but have lived in Canada mostly. I love both countries equally. (distributive adjective)
• Most people use YouTube and Facebook on a daily basis. Both are owned by Google. (distributive pronoun)

Notice when these words function as a pronoun, they are not followed by a noun. They can be followed by a prepositional phrase working as an adjective though. The prepositional phrase modifies the pronoun and works as a postmodifier.

Every vs Each

The words every and each confuse a lot of English learners as they are often used interchangeably in some situations with a little or no change in the meaning.

This is why it becomes quintessential for us to understand how exactly they are used in sentences and what the difference between them is.

When to use ‘each’?

We use ‘each‘ is used to refer to individual members/items of a group. Please note that the focus is on the individual member.

• Each member of the group has been paid for the work in advance.
• The teacher sits with each student to understand their problems.

Though the word ‘each’ as a distributive adjective refers to all the members of the group referred to in the sentences, the focus is on the individuals. It does not refer to or emphasize the entire group as a whole.

Now, let’s understand how ‘every’ is used in a sentence.

When to use ‘every’?

The word ‘every‘ is used to refer to all members of a group as a whole. It emphasizes the entire group rather than the individual members. It points out individual members with the focus being on the group itself a little more.

• Every student was given enough time to answer the questions.
• Even after being such a big personality, he met every guest personally.

The focus in the sentences, with the use of ‘every’, is on the entire group. In the first example, it is on the set that is ‘students’. So, when the speaker says ‘every student‘, the image of all students in that group pops into the mind of the speaker. It, though, refers to all individual members of the group, the focus is on the entire set/group.

Each, every, and any

The distributive adjective ‘any‘ has a slightly different meaning than ‘every‘ and ‘each‘. All the members share or receive the impact of the verb with the adjective ‘each‘ and ‘every‘. But the same is not seen with ‘any‘. The word ‘any‘ means ‘one of a few out of a group of something large, usually unknown’.

• Ron is willing to train each employee of the company.
• Ron is willing to train every employee of the company.

In both sentences, all the members of the group, which is a group of employees of a company in these examples, are receiving the impact of the verb: getting trained from the subject. Observe that it is not one or a few employees that are receiving it; it’s everyone.

But the same would not be true if we used the word ‘any’ in the sentence.

• Ron is willing to train any employee of the company.

Now, the sentence does not imply that all the members of the group (employees) are receiving the impact of the verb ‘train’. All the employees are not going to be trained by the subject (doer).

• You can come to me for any problem.
• I will give you any car you like.

Replacing ‘any’ with the adjectives each or every in these two sentences will change their meaning. Also, they would sound odd to our ears.