# English grammar. Do you say "each of the ring parts projects/project"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2022, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833 "2022-12-20T06:56:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/1 "2022-12-20T06:56:51Z")
In written (not spoken) English what do you use, “projects” or “project”? Is it different for spoken English? _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/1))_ ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/2 "2022-12-20T07:36:17Z")
Which is the verb? What’s the full sentence? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/3 "2022-12-20T07:39:16Z")
Sorry, full sentence is “Each of the ring parts projects/project into the inner housing.” ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/4 "2022-12-20T07:46:35Z")
OK. So “projects” is the verb (and “Each” as the subject is singular). Though, as it happens, if you had meant “ring parts project/projects” as a noun, it would still be “projects” because “Each of” clearly means there are several in total. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/5 "2022-12-20T08:12:45Z")
I must have some kind of mental blinder because, for me, from a semantic point of view there are a plurality of rings so the verb should be “project”. I might have to accept that I am just wrong on this. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/6 "2022-12-20T08:15:07Z")
But “rings” isn’t the subject - “each [one] of” is the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/7 "2022-12-20T08:16:57Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Each of the ring parts The subject NP can’t be “Each of the ring parts”? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/8 "2022-12-20T08:57:34Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > The subject NP can’t be “Each of the ring parts”? What if the rest of the sentence were something like - “Each of the ring parts has a unique serial number.” “Each of the ring parts is a different color.” So I think “each of X” is certainly supposed to be singular, and it should be singular in the OP’s sentence too, even though in OP’s sentence it’s describing a common property of all the parts, rather than a difference. Compare “every one of”, which strongly emphasizes a common property, but is clearly singular. “Every one of the ring parts projects into the inner housing.” “Each of the ring parts projects into the inner housing.” If you don’t like the way it sounds, there’s always the option of saying: “All of the ring parts project into the inner housing.” ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/9 "2022-12-20T09:39:11Z")
Thank you, and to other posters too, I will ruminate on this. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/10 "2022-12-20T10:08:14Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > If you don’t like the way it sounds, there’s always the option of saying: > > “All of the ring parts project into the inner housing.” This is how I would deal with a problem like this. There are nearly always several ways of stating something, and it’s often the case that the new line is an improvement anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/11 "2022-12-20T10:18:47Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Is it different for spoken English? I think the juxtaposition of the plural “parts” with the verb means that you might often hear the subject treated as a plural in spoken English. However, I don’t think this is something where you’d necessarily say that common usage implies that treating the subject as plural is a valid alternative, because I think most native speakers who had treated the subject as plural in casual speech would themselves say they had made an error if they thought about the sentence more carefully. In other words - I don’t think it’s misplaced prescriptivism to say that treating the subject as plural is an error. I think most native speakers’ intuition would “spontaneously” conform to the singular subject on more careful thought, and recognize that the form of the sentence had misled them. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/12 "2022-12-20T12:31:39Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > The subject NP can’t be “Each of the ring parts”? It could be, but it’s still “each” at its core. You could replace “each of the ring parts” with: - each ring part - each one - each And they would be grammatically equivalent. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/13 "2022-12-20T13:20:12Z")
The plural “parts” is the object in the prepositional phrase “of the ring parts,” which modifies “each.” A prepositional phrase positioned like this one is out of play, so to speak, in regard to subject-verb agreement. For that, you just look at “each . . . projects . . .” Although “each” implies multiple parts, it also means you’re considering those parts one by one, on an individual basis. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/14 "2022-12-20T13:49:34Z")
“Each” is singular. “All” is plural. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/15 "2022-12-20T13:53:42Z")
Thank you. Now I get it. Thank you for all those here who are generous with knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/16 "2022-12-20T13:58:09Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > However, I don’t think this is something where you’d necessarily say that common usage implies that treating the subject as plural is a valid alternative, because I think most native speakers who had treated the subject as plural in casual speech would themselves say they had made an error I don’t know about that. British people say “the government are” and “Man U have.” (Cringe) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2022, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-do-you-say-each-of-the-ring-parts-projects-project/976833/17 "2022-12-20T14:17:23Z")
I don’t think that’s analogous. Those things can _explicitly_ be treated as plural as standard usage in British English. Whereas if you took the OP sentence and progressively simplify & strip it down, I think most people would recognize that it’s singular, and it’s just the complexity of the sentence that’s misleading. \* Each of the ring parts project into the inner housing. \* Each of the ring parts are red. \* Each one of the ring parts are red. \*\* Each one are red. \*\* Each part are red. Only the last two here are jarringly wrong, and it might not be uncommon to hear the first three; but with reflection I think most native speakers would recognize that all of them are in fact similar with a singular subject.