'Thanks everybody’ and ‘thanks everyone' are common expressions in the English language. But why are there two different ways to say the same thing? And is one better than the other in certain contexts?
Read on to learn more about these two expressions, and to find out if 'thanks everybody' or 'thanks everyone' are the correct grammar.
Summary:
You can use both. Both expressions are perfectly correct to use.
Firstly, let’s dive into the meaning of the expression, which is made up of two words, by breaking it down.
‘Everybody’ and ‘everyone’ is used to refer to a group of people. This would usually mean more than three.
They are indefinite pronouns, meaning that they are used to refer to people or things, without having to be specific about who they are. Here are some examples of sentences that contain indefinite pronouns:
In contrast, a definite pronoun refers to something or someone specific and is used to replace a noun that is already mentioned. We’ll also list some examples of definite pronouns, so you can see the difference:
An important note here is to not confuse ‘everyone’ with ‘every one’, when writing down the expression ‘thanks everyone’. Indeed, ‘every one’ carries a different meaning. Whilst ‘everyone’ refers to a group of people, ‘every one’ emphasizes the individuality of each person or thing in the group. ‘Every one’ is a synonym of ‘each’. Here are a couple of examples:
An easy way to remember the correct spelling is that ‘every one’ would be followed by the preposition ‘of’, then the specific thing you’re referring to. So to use the example of the flowers above to illustrate, 'every one' is followed by 'of' and then 'flowers'.
‘Thanks’ is a plural noun that is used to show your gratitude to someone, or for something.
It comes from the verb ‘to thank’.
‘Thank you’ is another way of expressing gratitude, and is somewhat more formal than ‘thanks’. 'Thanks' is a shortened version that's become acceptable and correct to use as a standalone over time.
As mentioned earlier, ‘everybody’ and ‘everyone’ refers to groups of people. Therefore, ‘thanks everybody’ or ‘thanks everyone’ should be used in group contexts, when you want to thank a number of people for something.
Typically, the group should contain more than three people, because if there were only two people, you would simply say ‘thank you both’. So you’re best saving this expression for groups of three people or more.
Furthermore, the expression ‘thanks everyone’ or ‘thanks everybody’ always comes from a first-person perspective. This means you should only use it to express your own gratitude. You can’t use it to express someone else’s gratitude. That’s because the word 'thanks' can only be used in the first person singular. Therefore the ‘I’ is inferred here. If you wanted to thank a group of people on behalf of someone else, you would need to specify this and phrase it slightly differently. For example:
Jane is sorry she can't make it tonight, but she would like to thank you all for your support.
So Which One is Correct?
You’ll be pleased to hear that both expressions are entirely correct, and it makes no difference whatsoever which one you use.
Some say that ‘everybody’ is less formal than ‘everyone’, but we think that might be being a little pedantic. Both words are in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, so that’s good enough for us!
'Thanks everybody’ or ‘thanks everyone’ is a full sentence. You can use it on its own, without adding anything to it. Usually, this would be relevant in a context where you’re giving out a general thanks, such as at the end of a meeting. Or perhaps you’ve just given a speech about the things you’re grateful for, so there’s no need for repetition, you can just finish up by saying ‘thanks everyone’. You might have heard celebrities do this in their award acceptance speeches. Here’s an example to illustrate:
All the people in this room have been paramount in helping me get to where I am today, so I’d like to dedicate this award to them. Thanks everyone.
You can however if you choose, extend the sentence and make it longer by adding the preposition ‘for’, and continuing on to explain what you’re thanking them for. For example:
Thanks everyone for showing up tonight, I really appreciate it.
Though the English language isn’t a “pro-drop” language, meaning it isn’t customary to drop the personal pronoun in a sentence, it has become acceptable to do so, in contexts where it’s quite obvious who the subject is.
In this context, it’s clear that the speaker is the one doing the thanks, which is why it’s okay to say ‘thanks everybody’.
There are myriad ways of expressing your gratitude to a group of people. Let’s outline some of those, as well as explore some common idioms with the word ‘thanks’.
Of all the different ways you can thank a group of people, some are more formal than others, so you’ll need to choose wisely based on the context. Here are some examples of expressions that are fine to use in all situations - formal and casual.
And now for some examples of more casual expressions, that we don’t recommend using in a formal setting.
To round up this article in a fun way, we thought we’d list some of our favorite idioms containing the word ‘thanks. There really are tons of them, but we’ll just list a few here. Feel free to perform an online search yourself to find more.
So there you have it. In summary, you can use both ‘thanks everybody’ and ‘thanks everyone’ interchangeably. They are both suitable for any context, and can be used as a standalone sentence, or in conjunction with more words to make a longer sentence, should you wish to specify what it is that you’re thankful for.
Now that you know what to say, who are you going to thank?
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