Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Junkomama]

Hello, teachers.
Which sentence is correct?

1. Each of us are supposed to bring a dish that they cooked themselves.
2. Each of us are supposed to bring a dish that we cooked ourselves.
3. Each of us is supposed to bring a dish that he/she cooked him/hersef.
4. Each of us is supposed to bring a dish that they cooked themselves.

Thank you in advance!
Junkomama

[buddhaheart]

1. Each of us are supposed to bring a dish that they cooked themselves. X
2. Each of us are supposed to bring a dish that we cooked ourselves. X
3. Each of us is supposed to bring a dish that he/she cooked him/herself. OK
4. Each of us is supposed to bring a dish that they cooked themselves. X

The subject �each of us� is singular. The copula should therefore be �is�. The object in the main
clause is �a dish� which is cooked by one or any �of us�. Only �he/she� agrees with the pronoun. The
correct sentence can only be 3.

[2006]

This is a complicated situation.
First of all, I think that most native speakers will say 'Each of us is supposed to bring a dish that we cooked ourselves.' This sentence includes the first part of #3 and the second part of #2.
I don't know if this sentence is strictly correct but its meaning is clear, and the "we" in the second part matches the "us" in the first part. Also, I don't like any of the offered choices.

'he/she' is rarely said or written in English; it is cumbersome and is often replaced by 'they', in order to be simpler and gender neutral. Likewise, "himself/herself" is usually replaced by 'themselves', but 'themselves' really doesn't doesn't include the speaker. Therefore, we say 'ourselves'.
So we have, "Each of us is supposed to bring a dish that we cooked ourselves."

Maybe the most grammatically correct is 'Each of us is supposed to bring a dish that each of us cooked without any help.' but I am quite sure no one says that.

I will be very interested to hear the opinions of others, including any further comments from buddhaheart.

[Junkomama]

Hello, buddahaheart-san. Hello, 2006-san.
Thank you very much for your response!
Both of your answers are very helpful!

Regards,
Junkomama