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ずつ can be used when talking about allotting/diving things evenly (e.g.
飴を2つずつあげる), or having equal numbers of different things (e.g.
ネギマとレバーを2本ずつ下さい).

But what about cases where multiple things are combined in a single sentence,
and it's not immediately obvious how to clearly express exactly how things are
being divided? Such as in the following examples:

  * Please give 2 books to each person
  * Each pair of people will receive 3 points
  * Each person will receive 2 each of apples and oranges (i.e. 2 apples and 2 oranges for each person)

What is the natural way of expressing these?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-26T03:25:47.523
42891
2018-04-24T12:48:36.437
18107
question
grammar counters
More complicated examples of allotting items with ずつ
It is not so difficult, if you know how to express "each" in Japanese.

The common way to express "each" is using 「それぞれ（の）」 「[各]{かく}」, or 「ごとに」. By
using these words and ordering words correctly, you can remove ambiguity, as
follows:

> **それぞれの** 人に本を2冊 **ずつ** 下さい。 / **それぞれの** 人に本を2冊下さい。  
>  Please give 2 books to each person.
>
> **各** ペアは3ポイント **ずつ** 受け取る。 / **各** ペアは3ポイントを受け取る。  
>  Each pair of people will receive 3 points.
>
> **それぞれの** 人がりんごとみかんを2つ **ずつ** もらう。 / **それぞれの** 人がりんごとみかんを **それぞれ** 2つもらう。  
>  Each person will receive 2 each of apples and oranges.

Notice that in the first two examples 「ずつ」 is not crucial anymore because
「それぞれ」 or 「各」 is enough to express "each", though 「ずつ」 still helps us properly
understanding the meaning of each sentences. In the last example, we have two
different "each," so we still have two words for each "each." In the left
Japanese sentence 「ずつ」 refers to "each of apples and oranges" and 「それぞれ」 is
for "each person."

* * *

By the way, in the second example, I used 「ペア」 to express "pair of people." In
this case, if we avoid this and stick to 「2人」, it becomes less natural but the
following may be possible:

> 2人 **ごとに** 3ポイントが与えられる。

Actually they have a bit different nuances. Using 「ペア」 (or 「組」 etc.) sounds
like they are a fixed team, but if we use 「ごとに」 here, it sounds like each pair
was chosen just for the purpose of giving 3 points.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-26T03:48:48.550
42892
2018-04-24T12:48:36.437
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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answer