To Mod Mr Micawber: each and each of

Question

Dear Mr Micawber,
I've ever asked you a question about the difference between "all" and "all off" (see the 'all and all of' thread), you remember?

Here's the original post you replied to mine,

"There's no nuances of difference in meaning of the words themselves, Jeff, but several minor differences in grammatical usage. It's a bit messy, but here's a summary of Swan, Practical English Usage:

1) Both OK before nouns with a determiner: 'All (of) the cake is gone; all (of) my friends are gone.' It is the determiner that makes the noun specific, not the 'all (of)'.

2) Only 'all' if no determiner: 'All people like pie; all sugar is sweet'.

3) Only 'all of' before object pronoun: 'All of them are hungry; all of it is gone'.

4) Only 'all' after object pronoun: 'She ate them all; he made it all himself'.

5) Only 'all of' with complements: 'Are those all of them?; that is not all of the pie'. "

So I was just wondering if 'each' and 'each of' can follow this law too.

Jeff_999 · Accepted Answer

Here's the specific,

'each of functions of the body' is definitely wrong, right? Because, before noun 'functions', we have to put a determiner, or we can just say 'each functions' elliptically? Do I get it right?

Jeff_999 · Answer

and it seems that "every" + "a determiner" + "noun" is incorrect. Here, 'every' should be replaced by 'each of'.

OMG, what a string of questions! I am tired a little bit now.

Mister Micawber · Answer

Hi Jeff,

I almost missed this one, even with the title. Moderators (at least this one) often have time only to look down the 'Replies' column to see which new posts are unanswered-- but you 'answered' yourself twice!

Now let's see--

We can't really compare 'all (of)' with 'each (of)' totally, because the first is inclusive while the latter is distributive: no non-count nouns take 'each (of)'. However:

(1) 'Each' works before a singular countable noun only, as a determiner-- if there is no other determiner: 'Each apple is ripe'.

(2) If there is another determiner, then 'each of' must be used: 'Each of the/these/my apples is/are ripe'-- and note also that this works only with plural countables.

(3) Preceding object pronouns, the usage is the same as for 'all of': 'Each of them is an apple'; but neither can follow the pronoun.

(4) With complements, only 'each of' works, I presume, but I cannot find a reasonable sentence: 'This is each of them/the apples' (?)

So, they do seem to follow similar structural laws, varying only by the nature of their meanings.

As to your later examples:

'each of functions of the body' is definitely wrong, as is 'each functions'-- it must be 'each of the functions' or 'each function'.

'And it seems that 'every' + determiner + noun is incorrect. Here, 'every' should be
replaced by 'each of'. '-- yes, it seems that way to me too. Or 'every one of'.

Hope this helps.

Jeff_999 · Answer

<img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/> Thank you, thank you very much Mr. Micawber. You moderators are really really helpful. Now all questions are shot. I am so excited. hehe

Jeff_999 · Answer

I can't find any button to PM you. You know, I am really sorry about what you just said

Moderators (at least this one) often have time only to look down the 'Replies' column to see which new posts are unanswered

Yeah, we enjoy more ppl getting involved in discussions, and trying to crack those questions, but, in the meantime, we need the correct answer! Ppl out there would be really upset if they couldn't get satisfied answers.

So, I hope at least one of you moderators better post a reply in our threads. In case you're busy today, Mod CJ had better try to answer our questions... But it sounds you have to go track all the threads. Oh sooo sorry for that, but...I dunno, I cann't figure out another way?

I know this request is a little too enough, but I just, I really hope you mods can help us out. Many thanks to all of you.

Mister Micawber · Answer

No PM facilities here yet, Jeff, but maybe in the next version, which is being worked on now, I think.

To Mod Mr Micawber: each and each of

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬