Should this sentence with "each" have a singular or plural verb?

Question

State if each of the following habits is recommended, optional or disliked.

Is there anything grammatically wrong with the above sentence? Can I use it as it is? Should I use 'is' or change it to 'are' i.e.

State if each of the following habits are recommended, optional or disliked.

@mstorkson That's sort of the point of the question... there are several habits but does "each" make them singular? That's a very good question and something that confuses even native speakers. I bet that you could get strong arguments on both sides. :D — Catija, Commented Feb 8, 2017 at 21:48
@Catija Turns out I was incorrect, see english.stackexchange.com/questions/12387/… — mstorkson, Commented Feb 8, 2017 at 21:52
We don't do proof reading of questions. I edited your question to relate to a specific issue for a reason. General "what is wrong with this sentence?" questions are closed as being off topic. If you have a second question about this, feel free to ask it but you will need to explain your hesitation - why do you think "state if" is wrong? — Catija, Commented Feb 8, 2017 at 22:55

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-13 12:38:13Z

1

My comment was incorrect, and will be removed, see this answer on English Stack Exchange: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/12387/each-with-plural-or-singular-verb

Since "each" is singular, you want to use, "each of these habits is". See the answer for the in depth explanation

CommunityBot

1

answered Feb 8, 2017 at 21:54

mstorkson

3,2968 silver badges17 bronze badges

Add a comment |

WRX · Accepted Answer · 2017-02-09 12:33:33Z

-1

State if each of the following habits are recommended, optional or dislkiked.

State if each of the following habits is recommended, optional or disliked.

answered Feb 8, 2017 at 21:53

WRX

4,6751 gold badge10 silver badges24 bronze badges

Must be regional. I'm in the US and I don't think of "habits" as applying only to negative things... "She has the habit of going to bed at 10 pm and waking up at 6 am." That's pretty neutral, if not positive.
– Catija
Commented Feb 8, 2017 at 21:56
@Catija -- Fair enough. I did not have that problem in Toronto, but have been asked to qualify a few times where I live in Texas. It happened recently enough, that I mentioned it.
– WRX
Commented Feb 8, 2017 at 21:59
I'm a Texan, funnily enough. :D
– Catija
Commented Feb 8, 2017 at 21:59
@Catija It surprised the heck out of me, but I think I'll delete that part simply because you're here and you think it is strange, too.
– WRX
Commented Feb 8, 2017 at 22:01
Not my downvote, by the way :) Anyway, to improve your answer, it'd be best if you could explain why this is correct. :) Saying it's correct is great but we like to help our askers understand the concept so that they can make the decision for themselves in the future. Plus, it's more useful to other people if the concept is explained generally.
– Catija
Commented Feb 8, 2017 at 22:03

| Show 1 more comment

2 Answers 2