The increase cost each of us more money.
What is the PP "of us" doing to or for the direct object "each" in the sentence? Does the PP function as an adjective would function? Also are both "each" and "more" pronouns?
Thank you very much.
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Do you mean the prepositional phrase "of us"?– alphabetCommented Dec 17, 2023 at 2:02
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The PP "of us" is complement of "each".– BillJCommented Dec 17, 2023 at 13:42
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'Cost' is a verb with debated argumentation analysis (see Is 20 dollars here a direct object or a predicate complement: this book cost me 20 dollars for a start). Would 'The tax cut gave each of us more money' do as an alternative example? The entire phrase 'each of us' is the undisputed indirect object here.– Edwin AshworthCommented Dec 17, 2023 at 15:48
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I’d say that "us" refers to a set x, and each of us then means “each member of set x”.– BillJCommented Dec 17, 2023 at 17:45
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3 Answers
The increase cost [each of us] more money.
"Each" and "more" are determinatives.
Us refers to a set x, and each of us then means "each member of set x".
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The asker may be confused on the parsing of the syntactic constituents here because cost is taking two objects, the way cost you a pretty penny or bet you five quid both do. When all you have in your parsing model is a few parts of speech and not actual constituents, it forces paradoxes leading to sometimes thinking words like each, both, some, more, many, all somehow "become" nouns or pronouns when used for a verb's core arguments as we see happening here, particularly when the rest of the NP has been deleted/fused/elided.– tchrist ♦Commented Dec 17, 2023 at 18:57
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@tchrist Which is why I explained that "each" is understood as "each member". I could have added that "each" is a fused determiner-head, but that may have confused the asker. "Cost" is interesting in that the Oi of most verbs has a goal (recipient) role, whereas here the role of Oi is source. As far as naming constituents is concerned, it depends on whether we're talking about phrase level or word level constituents.– BillJCommented Dec 17, 2023 at 19:23
Each in your example has no antecedent (or semantically anchoring nominal if you don't consider each a pronoun) to indicate the overarching group to whose individual members it refers. The complement of us identifies the group: "us".
The price went up. We each had to pay more.
The price went up. Each of us had to pay more.
"The increase cost each of us more money."
A prepositional phrase can either be used as an adverb or adjective.
In this case, "of us" is used as an adjective to modify "each".
The clarity the modifier brings is in defining "Each what?" -- "each OF US".
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1I disagree, A PP can't be 'used' as an adverb or adjective, That would make no sense. Adverbs and adjectives are not functions but distinct parts of speech. Functions, on the other hand, consist of subject, object, modifier, complement etc. In the OP's example, the PP "of us" is not a modifier but complement of the prep "of". In any case, determinatives in such constructions cannot normally be modified by PPs. See my answer below.– BillJCommented Dec 18, 2023 at 11:47