(ēch)
adjective Being one of two or more considered individually; every: Each person cast a vote. My technique improved with each lesson.
pron. Every one of a group considered individually; each one.
adverb For or to each one; apiece: ten cents each.
Usage Note: The traditional rule holds that the subject of a sentence beginning with
each is grammatically singular, and the verb and following pronouns must be singular accordingly:
Each of the apartments has (not
have)
its (not
their)
own private entrance (not
entrances). When
each follows a plural subject, however, the verb and subsequent pronouns remain in the plural:
The apartments each have their own private entrances (not
has its own private entrance). But when
each follows the verb with
we as its subject, the rule has an exception. One may say either
We boys have each our own room or
We boys have each his own room, though the latter form may strike readers as stilted. • The expression
each and every is likewise followed by a singular verb and, at least in formal style, by a singular pronoun:
Each and every driver knows (not
know)
what his or her (not
their)
job is to be. See Usage Notes at
every,
they.
