al, alle, allemaal, elk, ieder, alles, iedereen: 'all' and 'every' in Dutch

Dutch has several words for all and every, and which one you pick depends on where it sits and whether it points at people or things: alle kinderen (all children), al mijn geld (all my money), Ze zijn allemaal ziek. (They are all ill.) This page sorts out al, alle, allen and allemaal (all), elk and ieder (each/every), and the standalone words alles (everything) and iedereen (everyone).

Use alle directly before a plural noun, al before an article or another pronoun, and allemaal when all comes after the noun it describes. Allen is a formal word that only stands for people.

• Alle kinderen kregen een cadeau. (All the children got a present.) — alle + plural noun.
• Hij heeft al mijn boeken geleend. (He borrowed all my books.) — al before the possessive mijn.
• De borden zijn allemaal schoon. (The plates are all clean.) — allemaal after the subject.
• Allemaal can point at people or things; allen is formal and only for people.

Elk and ieder mean each / every and go before a singular noun; they take -e before a de-word and stay bare before a het-word — the same de/het split that drives adjective endings. The two words are interchangeable, with a mild tendency to use ieder for people and elk for things.

Elke ochtend drink ik koffie. (Every morning I drink coffee.) — ochtend is a de-word, so elke takes -e. Before a het-word the form stays bare: Elk kaartje kost vijf euro. (Each ticket costs five euros.) Because elk and ieder are singular, the noun and the verb stay singular too: Iedere klant krijgt korting. (Every customer gets a discount.) The same pattern turns up in the saying Op elk potje past een dekseltje. (There's a lid for every pot.)

Alles (everything) and iedereen (everyone) stand on their own, without a noun after them, and both count as singular — so the verb is singular too.

• Alles is klaar. (Everything is ready.) — singular verb is, not zijn.
• Iedereen is welkom op het feest. (Everyone is welcome at the party.)
• Iedereen heeft een geldig ticket nodig. (Everyone needs a valid ticket.)
• Like iemand, Dutch does not split everyone from anyone: both are iedereen.

A standalone all- or both-word that stands for people (no noun after it) adds -n; for things it does not. So both is beide before a noun or for things, but beiden when it stands alone for people.

• beide boeken (both books) — before a noun, no -n.
• Beide zijn goed. (Both are good.) — standing alone for things, no -n.
• Beiden kwamen te laat. (Both [people] arrived late.) — standing alone for people, -n added.
• Everyday Dutch often replaces both with allebei: Ze zijn allebei geslaagd. (They both passed.)

The same -n rule reaches allen, sommigen, enkelen and velen. See the quick guide to the -n rule for people, and the neighbouring page on some, several, few and many.

When all is followed by de, het, die, mijn or another article/pronoun, use al, not alle: al de gasten (all the guests), al het geld (all the money), al die vragen (all those questions). Learners reach for alle everywhere, producing alle de gasten, which is wrong. Keep alle for the case with no article in between: alle gasten (all guests).