Level 2 · Elementary

Every: 每…都

每 + MW + Noun + 都 + Verb

每 (měi, "every") almost always brings 都 along before the verb: 我每天都喝茶 "I drink tea every day", 每个人都喜欢她 "everyone likes her".

Dropping the 都 (每个人喜欢她) sounds noticeably off — treat 每…都 as a set.

Examples

每天喝茶。
wǒ měi tiān dōu hē chá
I drink tea every day.
每个喜欢她。
每個喜歡她。
měi gè rén dōu xǐ huan tā
Everyone likes her.
每年去中国。
每年去中國。
tā měi nián dōu qù zhōng guó
He goes to China every year.
本书很有意思。
本書很有意思。
měi běn shū dōu hěn yǒu yì si
Every book is interesting.

Common mistakes

✗ 每个人喜欢她。
✓ 每个人都喜欢她。
每 wants 都 before the verb.

Related grammar points

Practice this pattern in graded stories like The Last Piece of Cake, Packing Up (Part 1), The Photo Clue (Part 7) inside the Literate Chinese app.

Grammar sticks when you read it in stories

Every grammar point in this guide is built into the Literate Chinese app, with graded stories that use the pattern naturally and flashcards matched to the words you know — in Mainland or Taiwan Mandarin. Free on iOS and Android.

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