the grammar of "each"

Anonymousi can't get past the simple grammar of a sentence like this: "how big is/are each of these files?"

is either correct? because that's what i'm hung up on. i understand that "each" is singular, but is this some kind of special case for "are?" somehow i just can't think of which sounds more correct.

To my ear, 'each' i

i guess the problem is that i've used "each of these files" instead of simpifying it to "each file." that works without a problem.

"Each" takes a singular verb (is) - you are entirely correct. Many people find it confusing when there is an "of the [plural noun]" phrase, because the verb goes after that plural noun, but takes the singluar - it just "sounds" wrong.

For example, "Each of my friends is making a different dessert for the party" pairs of the words "friends" and "is" right next to each other - it looks f

well, it's funny. the example sentence you used sounds fine to me. it's also the type of example used here http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/each.html , which is why i finally came here. it's just the particulars of my example that seem to make it sound