Join over 5500 subscribers and get a free ebook

Use of even

Even is used to talk about surprising extremes.

• It is warm there, even in winter. (So you can be sure it will be very warm there in summer.)
• Even a child can understand this book. (Therefore you can be sure it is a simple one.)

Position

Even most often goes in mid position (after auxiliary verbs and is/am/are/was/were; before other verbs).

• He is rude to everybody. He is even rude to the police. (NOT Even he is … or He even is …)
• It puzzled even the experts. (NOT It even puzzled … or Even it puzzled …)

Even goes at the beginning of a clause when it refers just to the subject.

• Even a child can solve this problem.

It is also possible to put even before other words and expressions that we want to emphasise.

• I work every day, even on Sundays.

Not even is used to talk about a negative extreme.

• He can’t even write his own name.

Even if and even though

We can use even before if and though.

• I will go even if (though) you forbid me to.

Even so

Even so means ‘in spite of that’, ‘however’.

• The book is expensive, but even so you ought to buy it. (NOT … even though you ought to buy it.)

Search the Dictionary of Grammar Terms

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

Show Full Index Enter your search terms Submit search form   Web www.perfectyourenglish.com