"Each" followed by pronouns

[Susan Littlefield]

Originally Posted by Maryn

He kissed each finger, flicking it with his tongue, leaving it glistening.

Dear Ms. Confuzzled :

Your editor is correct. This sexy guy did not kiss a finger, he kissed each finger, flicked them with his tongue, leaving them them glistening.

I think I'm having a very hot flash.

[JulianneQJohnson]

Originally Posted by BethS

Why not eliminate the problem word?

He kissed her fingers, flicking them with his tongue, etc.

For fingers I like this. If we are talking about something that is a pair, like...ears, yes, let's say ears, then it leaves me wondering how he's licking them both at the same time. Which, while possible in some cases (and I do not mean with ears) does not seem as sweetly sensual as the tone of the sentence suggests.

Personally, I like either, though I like the sentence with "it" more. It makes it more apparent to me that he's taking his time with each one.

[Ken]

... knowing nothing about the grammatical intricacies, I'd instinctively go with them.

[Dorky]

Originally Posted by Maryn

He kissed each finger, flicking it with his tongue, leaving it glistening.

The editor would like both uses of it to be changed to them. Yes? No? Reasons?

IMO--

1) The second IT should be a THEM because it is referring to the group of fingers as a whole. You can see it clearly if you take out the middle section.

“He kissed each finger, leaving them (all) glistening.”
Compare: “I ate each fry, slowly finishing them all.”
Conpare: “I brushed each dog, leaving them all nicely groomed.”

2) I think the problem with the first (and more confusing) IT is that you’re trying to say this:

“He kissed each finger. While doing so, he flicked each finger with his tongue and left it glistening.”

Each always takes the form of a singular subject, as you can see in the second sentence:

“...he flicked it with his tongue and left it glistening.”

So the combination of 1 and 2 has caused your confusion!

I suggest doing something like this:

“He kissed every finger; with his tongue, he flicked each one and left it glistening.

It should be grammatically acceptable for your editor and eliminates the headaches
...Of course, I could be wrong

[Ken]

Originally Posted by Dorky

I suggest doing something like this:

“He kissed every finger; with his tongue, he flicked each one and left it glistening.

... good suggestion.

In general, I think this sentence is suffering from info overload. There's just too much going on in it. If you got rid of the glistening, or postponed it for a subsequent sentence you could abridge it to:

He kissed her fingers, flicking each with his tongue.

[HarryHoskins]

Mine - Swoon.

But in reality -- them.

[Roden Addison]

Not sure. May be more style than grammar. My approach since it's debatable would be:

He kissed her fingers, flicking each with his tongue, leaving them glistening.

Originally Posted by Maryn

I'm not in agreement with an editor. It's a small thing, but before I demand my way I should, of course, be sure I'm right. And I've thought about this enough that I've managed to thoroughly confuse myself.

The original sentence, with a noun change to make it suitable for all ages:

He kissed each finger, flicking it with his tongue, leaving it glistening.

The editor would like both uses of it to be changed to them. Yes? No? Reasons?

If it matters, editor is British, I'm American. Nearly all editor's other suggestions will make the manuscript better, as she clearly knows her stuff.

Maryn, confuzzled

[NottiThistledore]

I lean towards "it", personally. I think that the sense here is "he kissed each one in turn", with "one" being singular and thus commanding an "it". But if the sense is "all of the fingers at once", then "them" would be appropriate.