each

Question

There are 20 apples, each of which belongs to one person of a group of twenty people. One person may have only one apple.

1. The apple of each person
2. The apples of each person.

There are 20 apples, each of which belongs to one person of a group of twenty people. One person may have more than one apple.

3. The apple of each person.
4. The apples of each person.

Which number(s) denote incorrect sentence(s)?
Thanks.

Inchoateknowledge · Accepted Answer

?

Aperisic · Answer

If I go along with you, I would say 1 and 4 but that only in case if there are no apples involved. Why? Read ahead:

There are 20 apples, each of which belongs to one person of a group of twenty people. One person may have only one apple.

1. An apple of each person, but the name of each person (the name is unique)
2. The apples of all.

There are 20 apples, each of which belongs to one person of a group of twenty people. One person may have more than one apple.

4. Apples of each person, but the hands of each person

Which number(s) denote incorrect sentence(s)?

Precisely, none, except as above - each in almost all your cases (apart from those that are wrong) denotes the somehow unique apple(s) that belong(s) to all or several people in a group. There is no unique apple code. You can't use the to specify [1 general apple to 1 person] or [n general apples to 1 person] relationship in a group of many items. THE suggest one, uniqueness and there is nothing unique about apples. It is the context that says the usage of the

[maybe, but maybe, or just maybe:] The apple of each person has different color.

but

An apple of each person was red.

They each chose an apple. [not the apple because that would mean they, for example, fought over one apple]

The wife of each man.

A cover of each seat.

but

the quality(: color/size/shape...) of each item

The paper of each student (each work is unique)

...

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

Hi,

Thank you for your detailed explanation.
The apple of each student.
Let us disregard verb inflection and concentrate on the deternminer before 'apples'
I used 'the' because I mean the twenty apples I have already referred too.
'The twenty apples' is what I want to paraphrase using 'each' and 'people' words.
Comments?

Aperisic · Answer

InchoateknowledgeHi,

Thank you for your detailed explanation.
The apple of each student.
Let us disregard verb inflection and concentrate on the deternminer before 'apples'
I used 'the' because I mean the twenty apples I have already referred too.
'The twenty apples' is what I want to paraphrase using 'each' and 'people' words.
Comments?

There are twenty seats and twenty covers. I have to fix a cover of/on each seat.

Apple that belongs to the students has no attribute to define it as unique, either you mentioned them before or not.

There are twenty apples in the basket. The twenty students in my room took the twenty apples. An apple of each student has to be eaten as fast as possible.

There are twenty tags with students' names in the basket. The twenty students in my room took the twenty tags. The tag of each student has to be colored in blue.

It is not what you said but whether each object is unique, different from all others on its own (unless, of course, you add an attribute that will make each of them unique).

BarbaraPA · Answer

Hi Incho,

The phrasing you have chosen is not natural, regardless of number. A native would say "Each person's apple" (if there were only one apple per person) or "Each person's apples" (if each person may have more than one).

Aperisic · Answer

Grammar Geek
Hi Incho,

The phrasing you have chosen is not natural, regardless of number. A native would say "Each person's apple" (if there were only one apple per person) or "Each person's apples" (if each person may have more than one).

Yes. I think the same but I thought Incho was thinking about number(s) in any similar case regardless of who or what is from the left side and who or what is from the right side of ... of ...

My answers apply to any situation. However to clarify:

apple of George => George's apple usual

door of car => car's door not that usual but fine (modern )

yet that was not the question.

CalifJim · Answer

You realize, of course, that none of them are sentences because they have no verbs!
Also, in the second set-up you have only 20 apples, you have 20 people, and each apple belongs to one person. You realize, of course, that under those conditions the statement that one person may have more than one apple doesn't make sense, right?

CJ

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

Thank you.
Everything is clear now.

CalifJim Also, in the second set-up you have only 20 apples, you have 20 people, and each apple belongs to one person. You realize, of course, that under those conditions the statement that one person may have more than one apple doesn't make sense, right?

CJ

Hello Jim.

No!
Even it is possible that all the apples belong to only one person.
Each apple belongs to one person (and not two people) does not exclude the possibility of one person having more than one, but forbids that two people share one or more apples.
Therefore it is also possible that one has no apple.

CalifJim · Answer

Hee, hee, hee! Now I get it!

CJ

each

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