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I understand from reading similar posts on this topic that if I want to write a sentence using "each of you," I should follow this with a singular verb. So, for example, "Each of you has given your all this year" is correct, and "Each of you have given your all this year" is incorrect.

If I'm right on this point, could someone explain how the quantifier shift would work if I wanted to rewrite the sentence beginning "You each"?

To my ear, "You each have given your all this year" sounds correct, and "You each has given your all this year" sounds horrible and wrong.

But is it wrong? If so, why is it wrong?

Euan
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  • My example is for illustrative purposes only. – Euan Dec 04 '15 at 06:26
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    Sure, but it maybe incorrect English to start you sentence with You each, I think. Can you give an example of such a sentence ? – Darshan Chaudhary Dec 04 '15 at 06:33
  • Okay. I agree with you that style-wise it doesn't sound great, but I can't see why it would be out-and-out wrong. If you search for "you each have" on Google for instance, then numerous examples come up. One example coming up is as follows: "You each have unique abilities, life experiences, and training. You each have your own way of handling things and your own strengths and weaknesses" (from a book called A Catholic Guide to Caring for Your Aging Parent). – Euan Dec 04 '15 at 06:44
  • @DarshanChaudhary It's perfectly fine though! – Araucaria - Him Dec 04 '15 at 11:10
  • @Euan People won't get 'pinged' and won't read your answers if you don't put an '@Bob' at the beginning of your comments to them! – Araucaria - Him Dec 04 '15 at 15:17
  • @euan Could you wait till the bounty is finished before selecting an answer please? – Araucaria - Him Dec 07 '15 at 10:03
  • Wow, this is a fantastic question. Haven't read all the answers yet. HOWEVER, my strong inclination is that "each" is merely an appositive of "you." "You" is a plural subject and therefore the verb is plural ("have"), even though "each" itself is strongly singular. GREAT question. – SAH Dec 09 '15 at 12:19
  • @Araucaria My understanding is that you can award your bounty to whichever answer you want, whenever you want (within certain limits), regardless of which answer OP accepts. – SAH Dec 09 '15 at 12:21
  • @SAH Yes, that's right, but it discourages new answers. I put up a bounty to help OP's question because it wasn't getting enough attention. – Araucaria - Him Dec 09 '15 at 12:24

3 Answers3

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The fact that you can't always tell whether the subject of a sentence is singular or plural isn't your fault. It's English itself that doesn't make this clear. In a noun phrase of the form "each of [NP Noun ... ]", you could count either the "each" as the head of the entire noun phrase, or you could consider "each" to be a quantifier/determiner/article element and take the noun after the "of" to be the head.

If "each" is quantifier, then the grammatical number of the following head noun, which will be plural when there is an "of", will determine the number of the entire subject, and we'll get "Each of you have left". But if "each" is taken to be the head noun or pronoun of the subject noun phrase, since it appears to be singular, the entire subject will be considered singular. Then we'll get "Each of you has left".

The fact that "each" is subject to a transformation called Quantifier Float, which gives "You have each left", is sometimes taken as evidence that it should be "Each of you have left", the reasoning being that if "each" is a quantifier, it can't also be a noun or pronoun, so the plural "you" must be the real head noun. But that's not very good reasoning. Just because when "each" was converted into an adverb, the "you" graduated to become subject, that doesn't mean "you" was subject before the "each" was moved. It doesn't follow.

So there is no real answer to the question of how the verb should agree except to appeal to people's opinions. Take a vote, consult an authority, toss a coin. Whatever.

Above, I said 'the "you" graduated to become subject' in "You have each left". So it must be the head, because it's the only noun there in the subject. In "You each have left", I think we can also conclude that "you" is head of the subject, either because the "each" is an adverb and not within the subject, or if it is, it would have to be an adjective modifying "you" (English does not permit NP containing just two Ns). So, assuming that the verb will agree in number with the head of its subject noun phrase, we would expect the verb to agree with logically plural "you" when "each" has been floated.

Greg Lee
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    I'll take this the answer. Mostly because it attempts to get to the nub of what I asked in my original question, namely, "... could someone explain how the quantifier shift would work if I wanted to rewrite the sentence beginning "You each"?" For me this answer clarified what is happening here: each is the apparently singular head of the subject noun phrase in the first sentence ("Each of you has given your all this year"), and is then converted into an adverb in the second sentence ("You each have given your all this year"), with the plural you "graduating" to become the subject. – Euan Dec 07 '15 at 08:40
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    For the floated version, I gave an example with "each" in a position after an auxiliary verb to avoid a complication discussed by McCawley in TSPE. A quantifier before the first auxiliary needn't be an adverb, but may be a constituent of the subject noun phrase. I.e., "[you each] have ..." rather than "you [each have ...]". But after an auxiliary, the quantifier can only be an adverb: "you [have each ...]". – Greg Lee Dec 07 '15 at 18:33
  • In response to the request of the bounty-setter (@araucaria), I've deselected this answer and will wait for the bounty period to end before choosing one. – Euan Dec 08 '15 at 01:30
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    I'll take this opportunity to clarify. I am not saying that "each" is the head of the NP "each of you", only that that is one possibility. English has put the subject NP structure "N of NP" to several uses. (1) The N may be head of the entire NP, (2) the N may be a quantifier and the NP the real subject, (3) the N may be deverbal and the NP the object complement, (4) the NP may be a possessor. (1) versus (2) will make a difference to how subject-verb agreement works. Except for looking at how the verb actually agrees, there is no way to tell. – Greg Lee Dec 08 '15 at 01:58
  • Thanks for clarification. I wasn't attempting to attribute to you the strong position that each in "Each of you" is the head of the noun phrase, but it seems correct to say that this is, more often than not, what it is taken to be. – Euan Dec 08 '15 at 02:53
  • @GregLee, Euan, What really needs clarifying for OP is what is the head of the Subject NP in "you each", and what verb agreement is possible there (because you haven't quite covered this point yet!) – Araucaria - Him Dec 09 '15 at 12:34
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    @Araucaria, in my answer, I said 'the "you" graduated to become subject' in "You have each left". So it must be the head, because it's the only noun there in the subject. In "You each have left", I think we can also conclude that "you" is head of the subject, either because the "each" is not within the subject, or if it is, it would have to be an adjective modifying "you" (English does not permit NP containing just two Ns). Interesting though this is, how exactly Q-float works does not seem to me to be relevant to the question. – Greg Lee Dec 09 '15 at 16:19
  • @GregLee I think what you wrote in that comment (which is what I was angling at) is actually the nub of the question. OP wrote "If I'm right on this point, could someone explain how the quantifier shift would work if I wanted to rewrite the sentence beginning You each?

    To my ear, You each have given your all this year sounds correct, and You each has given your all this year sounds horrible and wrong.

    But is it wrong? If so, why is it wrong?" So, I think that if you stuck that bit in your anwer proper, that would be very useful for the readers here, and for the OP!

     – Araucaria - Him Dec 09 '15 at 16:23
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    @Araucaria, Okay, since Euan does ask about the floated Q version, I added my previous comment to the answer. But I'm not happy with some undiscussed assumptions here about how subject-verb agreement works. – Greg Lee Dec 09 '15 at 16:41
  • @GregLee Well, partitive style NPs aside, [my non-deeply introspective] view is that with common noun headed NP's it depends on the semantics, but with personal pronouns, agreement depends on the pronouns. Here's a weird post that I maybe shouldn't have done, because it's just my personal viewpoint – Araucaria - Him Dec 09 '15 at 20:58
  • @Araucaria, thanks for the interesting reference. You might also say that the number of a pronoun subject must agree that of its verb: "Robins is usually a sign of Spring, aren't they?/isn't it?/aren't it?/isn't they?" – Greg Lee Dec 09 '15 at 22:19
  • @GregLee Well, only if you agree that the pronoun in a tag is the Subject of the matrix clause that it occurs in, which I don't think it is. I didn't mean that to be a reference, as you know - just a short cut to making the point that we don't have a choice about verb agreement when pronouns are Subjects, whatever the semantics may be. This is because (maybe wrongly) I interpreted the fact that the semantics are -usually - the deciding factor when it comes to verb agreement to be the issue you were angling at. – Araucaria - Him Dec 09 '15 at 23:09
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    @Araucaria, no, I was just worried Euan would think that it was proven that after Q-float, a verb must agree with the new subject, not realizing that if it worked some other way, grammarians would simply make up some different rule. – Greg Lee Dec 09 '15 at 23:39
  • Thanks for all answers. Each one certainly added to my understanding of what is going on in such cases - or, at any rate, what is apparently going on. For my money, this was the most interesting answer and gave me some beginning insight into what had been puzzling me. – Euan Dec 14 '15 at 02:57
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I am going to take a stab at it. I don't think the matter is entirely opinion, but "what sounds right" is certainly personal. To answer the question, though, I will use equal parts grammar and instinct. One problem is that English words don't, on their own, contain as much information as words in other languages, so it can be difficult to parse the relationships among them, and sometimes the "rules" are (or appear to be) arbitrary.

In "Each of you has given your all" the subject of "has" is "each", a third person singular pronoun. This is a possessive with an objective relationship, like "fear of death" (though you wouldn't write death's fear to convey that same meaning any more than you would write you's each, but it at least makes the grammatical point clear to think of it that way in your head).

In "You each have given your all" the subject of "have" is "you", a second person singular pronoun, whereas "each" in this case modifies you as an adverb, which clarifies that "you" isn't singular or, at least, places some emphasis (redundant, depending on the context) on the individual achievement of each member of the group if "you" in this case is second person plural.

Ambiguity sets in, however, if you think "each" in the second case might be an indirect object, which would then be equivalent to "You have given your all to each (one)." Likewise, you could rewrite your example: "You have given, each (of you), your all." Neither may be likely, but they're not impossible, and it's just to illustrate how word order has something to do with how you parse these phrases. Some sentences are more correct-looking than others, or more common, but others are deliberately rhetorical if not archaic ("wrong" is probably too judgmental unless the meaning is unclear or not intentionally ambiguous or elliptical, as often occurs in poetry, for example).

I think the simplest explanation, though, is the subject-verb one. Each is third person singular, you is second person (s. or p. doesn't matter):

I have

you have

he/she/it has

sjsyrek
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  • +1 from me. Particularly for referring to the agreement. – Araucaria - Him Dec 07 '15 at 20:56
  • This is certainly useful, too. As @Araucaria wrote in a comment some time ago, it seems to come down to the question of what we take to be the head of the noun phrase. In the first case, it's likely that we will see this to be each (an apparently singular, third person pronoun); in the second case, it is you (and, as you helpfully point out, the have follows from it being second person - doesn't really matter if s. or p.). One thing I'm puzzled by in your answer, however, is how the second case sentence could possibly be rendered or understood as "You have given your all to each (one)." – Euan Dec 08 '15 at 00:19
  • @Avangion

    In para 3 you describe the use of "each" as redundant. I think it would be better to stick with your idea of emphasis. The use of each is not redundant, it is emphatic. Otherwise, I quite concur that the issue for the OP is which word is the subject of the sentence: each, or you. You get past that and the additional questions are just that - other questions. Related, but not the same. I prefer the simplicity of CompWiz's answer, but this one is more explanatory.

     – Mark G B Dec 08 '15 at 05:58
  • It's certainly not common, but think of it as "You, each have given, your all." You have to imagine it said with the particular emphasis indicated by the commas for it to make sense that way. It's definitely hard to see without the "to" or a clearer word order, but it's the sort of construction you sometimes see in, as I suggested, deliberately rhetorical or Latinate writing. As for the example I referred to as redundant, I think it depends on the context. "I saw it with my own eyes" is also redundant, but it can be emphatic at the same time. Genre, occasion, and style are important here. – sjsyrek Dec 08 '15 at 16:16
  • Yes, it's definitely very hard to see that without the "to." – Euan Dec 09 '15 at 03:22
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In the statements starting with "Each of you", the subject is "Each", making it a pronoun, and singular.

In statements starting with "You each", the subject is no longer "Each", but instead the subject is "You", making "each" an adjective. And "you" is plural. So, it makes sense to say "You have" and not "You has".

As if that wasn't fun enough, there is a second adjective use case. When the noun follows the word "each", the noun it is modifying must always be singular. Such as "Each dog".

edit

Upon further thinking... in the statement "each of you" could be a pronoun or adjective. As in. "Each had a great idea" (the pronoun) or "Each person has a great idea" (the adjective)

TheCompWiz
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  • Thanks. That sounds okay, but this is causing me confusion: each pronoun Definition of EACH for Kids : each one This is taken from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/each. If each is defined as a pronoun here, why does it become an adjective in "You each"? – Euan Dec 04 '15 at 07:12
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    Mostly because "You" can never be anything other than a noun. "each" can be either a pronoun or adjective. Since you already have one noun, each must be the adjective. – TheCompWiz Dec 04 '15 at 07:20
  • Can't the same be said of we? – Euan Dec 04 '15 at 07:21
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    Yep... and we is also plural... just like you. "We each have". Never "We each has". The verb must always match the subject. – TheCompWiz Dec 04 '15 at 07:22
  • Okay, but I'm still a little confused: Why does Merriam-Webster explicitly classify the each in "We each took a turn" as a pronoun? Is this wrong? You suggest that the each in "You each have given your all" is an adjective. I don't see the difference. – Euan Dec 04 '15 at 07:29
  • They made a mistake? ... it happens. – TheCompWiz Dec 04 '15 at 07:40
  • Yes, it's shaken my faith, but I think you're right. And this usage note from a different authority seems confirmation: "The adjective each is always followed by a singular noun: each person; each book. When the adjective follows a plural subject, the verb agrees with the subject: They each dress in different styles. The houses each have central heating." (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/each) Thanks for clarifying. – Euan Dec 04 '15 at 07:45
  • Interestingly enough... the OED says it is an adverb or pronoun... but not adjective. hmmmm.... – TheCompWiz Dec 04 '15 at 07:47
  • Hmmmm indeed. Merriam-Webster and Random House Dictionary say adjective, pronoun, or adverb. – Euan Dec 04 '15 at 07:49
  • YEAH ENGLISH! Still broken. – TheCompWiz Dec 04 '15 at 07:50
  • @Euan I highly recommend that you deselect this answer. There is nothing remotely adjective-like about each in your example. At all. Notice how you can't modify it with an adverb for example, it has no comparative form, it can't go before a plural noun, and so on and so forth. However, no-one is going to write you a good answer while you have selected this one as the correct one. :) – Araucaria - Him Dec 04 '15 at 15:15
  • @Araucaria I've deselected as you suggested, although the answer did seem helpful and squares with what I've read in other places. However, you've raised some doubts, so I'd be interested to hear what others have to say. – Euan Dec 07 '15 at 00:14
  • @Araucaria In addition, TheCompWiz's basic point that the each in the sentence beginning "You each..." is not working as a pronoun seems right. As a result, the verb here agrees with the subject (you). This stands whether or not we classify the each as an adjective. Doesn't it? At any rate, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on how we should classify the each in this sentence: if not as an adjective, then what? – Euan Dec 07 '15 at 00:20
  • @Euan Well, whether "each" is ever a pronoun is a bit of an academically disputed question. The important question is: What is the Head of the noun phrase. The answer in this case is you. The word each seems to be disconnected from the noun phrase functioning as Subject, imo, even though it comes straight after it. Consider You have each given your all this year. That seems to be the same sentence with each in a different position. – Araucaria - Him Dec 07 '15 at 00:34
  • @Euan Well, your question now has a bounty, so let's hope you get some good answers! – Araucaria - Him Dec 07 '15 at 00:36
  • @Araucaria. IMO, TheCompWiz has given a good answer, one deserving of the points award. I may try later to reword it, and add resources, but I don't think the basic message would be changed. The essential difference is which word is being used as the subject of the sentence. – Mark G B Dec 07 '15 at 01:44