EACH


Meaning of EACH in English

each S1 W1 /iːtʃ/ BrE AmE determiner , pronoun , adverb

[ Language: Old English ; Origin: ælc ]

1 . every one of two or more things or people, considered separately ⇨ every :

She had a bottle in each hand.

Grill the fish for five minutes on each side.

Each member of the team is given a particular job to do.

We each have our own skills.

When the children arrive, you give them each a balloon.

There are four bedrooms, each with its own shower and WC.

The tickets cost £20 each (=each ticket costs £20) .

You get two cookies each (=every one of you gets two cookies) .

each of

I’m going to ask each of you to speak for three minutes.

There are 250 blocks of stone, and each one weighs a ton.

each day/week/month etc (=on each day, in each week etc)

a disease that affects about 10 million people each year

2 . each and every used to emphasize that you are talking about every person or thing in a group:

These are issues that affect each and every one of us.

Firemen face dangerous situations each and every day.

3 . each to his/their own used to say that we all have different ideas about how to do things, what we like etc, especially when you do not agree with someone else’s choice:

I’d have chosen something more modern myself, but each to his own.

• • •

GRAMMAR

Each is used before a singular noun. Use a singular verb after it:

Each item was thoroughly checked.

Even when each comes before 'of' and a plural noun, the verb should be singular:

Each of these people has some useful talent or experience.

Each is usually used with a singular pronoun or determiner (he, she, it, his, himself etc):

Each component can be replaced separately if it breaks.

Each child assembles his or her project with help from the teacher.

However, you can use 'they', 'them', 'their' etc when you do not want to say whether people are male or female:

Each individual has the opportunity to put into practice their newly acquired skills.

► Do not use each in negative clauses. Use none :

None of the answers was correct (NOT Each of the answers was not correct).

each, every

It is often correct to use either each or every , but they have slightly different meanings.

Use each when you are thinking about the people or things in a group separately, one by one:

Each student came forward to receive a medal.

Each time you exercise, you get a little stronger.

Use every when you are thinking about the whole group of people or things together, with no exceptions:

Every student was given a prize.

You have to enter your password every time you log on.

► Do not use each after words such as 'almost', 'nearly', or 'not'. Use every :

Almost every window was broken.

Not every child enjoyed the party.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.