Learn Hardcore Chinese: měige rén duì zhè jiàn shìqíng dōu yǒu zìjǐ de kànfǎ. - Each person has their own opinion about this matter.

每个人 feels a bit more colloquial and explicit.
每人 is slightly more concise and may sound a bit more formal or written in some contexts (e.g. 每人一杯 “one cup per person”).

In this sentence, 每个人… and 每人… are both natural.

What exactly does 对 do in this sentence, and how is it different from saying something like 在这件事情上?

对 (duì) here introduces the object/target someone’s attitude or opinion is directed toward, roughly “toward / regarding / about”.

对这件事情都有自己的看法
- Literally: “toward this matter (they) all have their own views.”
- Natural: “everyone has their own opinion about this matter.”

You could also say:

在这件事情上，每个人都有自己的看法。

Both are correct. Nuance:

对… is simple and very common in spoken Chinese.
在…上 (“on this matter”) feels a tiny bit more formal or written, but is also common.

Functionally, for this sentence, 对这件事情 ≈ 在这件事情上.

Why is 件 used in 这件事情? Can I say 这件事 or 这个事情 instead?

件 (jiàn) is the measure word for things like events, matters, incidents:

一件事 / 一件事情 → “one matter/one thing (that happened)”

In the sentence:

这件事情 = “this matter / this issue / this thing (that we’re talking about)”

Variations:

这件事
- Very common and completely natural.
- Slightly shorter; often sounds a bit more colloquial.
这个事情
- Also used, especially colloquially.
- Some speakers feel 这件事(情) is a bit neater or more standard.

All of these work here:

每个人对这件事情都有自己的看法。
每个人对这件事都有自己的看法。
每个人对这个事情都有自己的看法。

Meaning doesn’t really change.

What is the role of 都 here? Could we leave it out? How is it different from 也?

都 (dōu) means “all / both” and emphasizes that the whole group shares the property that follows.

每个人…都有自己的看法。
- Highlights: every person, without exception, has their own opinion.

If you remove 都:

每个人有自己的看法。

This is still grammatical and understandable, but:

With 都, the “every single one of them” feeling is stronger.
Without 都, it sounds a little bit less emphatic and a bit more like a general statement.

Difference from 也 (“also”):

也 compares one case to another: “also, too”.
都 groups them: “all (of them)”.

You cannot replace 都 with 也 here:

❌ 每个人对这件事情也有自己的看法。 (sounds wrong; “each person also has…” but also compared to what?)

So 都 is the natural choice.

Why is 都 placed before 有? Could we put 都 somewhere else?

Basic rule: 都 usually comes after the subject (or group) it refers to and before the verb.

Pattern:

[Subject] + 都
- [Verb Phrase]

In our sentence:

Subject: 每个人对这件事情 (“every person, with respect to this matter”)
Adverb: 都
Verb: 有
Object: 自己的看法

So:

每个人对这件事情都有自己的看法。

You normally cannot move 都 after the verb in this kind of sentence:

❌ 每个人对这件事情有都自己的看法。
❌ 每个人对这件事情有自己的都看法。

Those are ungrammatical.

You can change fronting slightly, e.g.:

对这件事情，每个人都有自己的看法。

But 都 still immediately precedes 有.

Why do we use 有 here? Could we say 是 instead of 有?

有 (yǒu) means “to have / to possess” in this sentence:

有自己的看法 = “have one’s own opinion/view”

This expresses possession of an opinion, which is how Chinese often talks about opinions, ideas, feelings, etc.

Using 是 (shì) would not work:

❌ 每个人对这件事情是自己的看法。
- This is ungrammatical; 是 links two noun phrases like “A is B”, but 自己的看法 is not being equated with the person; it’s something they have.

So:

有 = correct and natural (possess an opinion)
是 = wrong here

What does 自己 mean here, and why do we add 的 after it?

自己 (zìjǐ) means “self / oneself”. It is reflexive and refers back to the subject:

每个人…都有自己的看法。
- Each person has their own opinion.

In 自己的看法:

自己 functions like a possessor (“one’s own”).
的 turns it into a modifier of 看法, similar to “’s” or “of” in English.

Structure:

自己 (self) + 的 (possessive marker) + 看法 (view/opinion)
→ “one’s own view”

Without 的, it would be ungrammatical here:

❌ 有自己看法 (missing the 的 in this structure; sounds wrong).

What is the difference between 看法, 意见, and 观点?

All three can relate to “opinion/view”, but with different nuances:

看法 (kànfǎ)
- Literally: “way of seeing”.
- Very common, neutral.
- Means “view, way of looking at something”.
- Often used in everyday conversation:
  - 你对这件事有什么看法？
    “What’s your view on this matter?”
意见 (yìjiàn)
- “Opinion; suggestion; objection”.
- Often used when expressing suggestions, criticisms, or objections:
  - 你有什么意见可以提。
    “You can raise any opinions/suggestions.”
- Can sometimes have a slight “disagreeing/critical” feel, depending on context.
观点 (guāndiǎn)
- “Point of view; standpoint”.
- Feels a bit more formal/abstract, often used in discussions, essays, academic contexts:
  - 他的观点很有意思。
    “His viewpoint is very interesting.”

In this sentence, 看法 fits perfectly; 意见 and 观点 would change the tone slightly:

每个人对这件事情都有自己的观点。 → more formal / ideological
每个人对这件事情都有自己的意见。 → sounds more like “everyone has their own opinions/remarks (possibly conflicting)”

Is 每个人对这件事情 the subject of the sentence, or is just 每个人 the subject?

Grammatically, the main subject is 每个人.

The 对这件事情 part is a prepositional phrase that modifies how the action relates to something:

Subject: 每个人 (every person)
Prepositional phrase: 对这件事情 (“with regard to this matter”)
Adverb: 都
Verb: 有
Object: 自己的看法

So the core is:

每个人都有自己的看法。
“Everyone has their own opinion.”

Adding 对这件事情 just specifies the topic of those opinions.

Why doesn’t Chinese mark plural on 人 (person/people)? Why is it 每个人 and not something like “每个人人”?

Chinese generally does not mark plural on nouns the way English does.

人 can mean “person” or “people” depending on context.
每个 already implies “each/every one”, so adding a plural marker is unnecessary.

So:

一个人 → one person
很多人 → many people
每个人 → every person / everyone

You don’t say:

❌ 每个人人
❌ 很多人人

The quantity or distribution is always shown by words like 一, 两, 每, 很多, 几 etc., not by changing the noun itself.

Could we move parts around and still be correct, for example: 对这件事情，每个人都有自己的看法? Does the meaning change?

Yes, this is also correct:

对这件事情，每个人都有自己的看法。

Meaning is essentially the same. Differences:

Original: 每个人对这件事情都有自己的看法。
- Starts with “everyone”, focusing on the people.
Variation: 对这件事情，每个人都有自己的看法。
- Starts with “regarding this matter”, focusing on the topic first.

Both word orders are natural; Chinese allows fairly flexible placement of prepositional phrases like 对…, 在…上, etc., as long as the main structure remains clear.

Can we omit 事情 and just say 对这件? Or omit 件 and say 对这事情?

In practice:

❌ 对这件 (by itself) is incomplete; 件 is a measure word and must be followed by a noun.
✅ 对这件事 / 对这件事情
✅ 对这事 (colloquial; dropping the measure word in some set phrases is okay)
❌ 对这事情 is less standard; most people would say:
- 对这件事情 (with 件), or
- 对这事 / 对这个事情

So in this pattern, the safest natural options are:

对这件事情
对这件事
对这事 (more casual)
对这个事情 (colloquial, common but a bit looser)

Is there any difference in tone or politeness if we replace 每个人 with 大家?

Yes, you can say:

大家对这件事情都有自己的看法。

Differences:

每个人 = “each person / everyone individually”, emphasizing individuality.
大家 = “everyone / all of you”, but as a group; very common when addressing an audience.

So:

每个人对这件事情都有自己的看法。
- Slightly more neutral; stresses that each individual has their own view.
大家对这件事情都有自己的看法。
- Feels more like the speaker is talking to the group (“all of you have your own views”).
- Slightly more conversational.

Grammatically, both are fine; the nuance is in emphasis and addressee.