# How to center subequations and maintain sub-numbering

I'm trying to get a subequation with 3 lines to have all equations centered horizontally relative to each other.

Right now I have:

\begin{subequations}\label{eq:propArea}
\begin{alignat}{2}
A &= first~special~subequation \\
B &= equation~much~bigger~then~others~above~and~below \\
C &= smaller~equation
\end{alignat}
\end{subequations}

As you can see equations are aligned at the & marks.

Using the gathered environment gives:

$$\label{eq:propArea} \begin{gathered} A = first~special~subequation \\ B = equation~much~bigger~then~others~above~and~below \\ C = smaller~equation \end{gathered}$$

As you can see it aligns the equations to their centers, but I loose the sub-numbering that was so useful...

How can I get the two things?

• in a comment to the accepted answer, you say that you probably saw a reference to gather in another question. to get a better overview of what's available, you should read the amsmath users guide; it's not very long. texdoc amsmath. – barbara beeton Aug 27 '17 at 18:15