Topic 22
BETWEEN : AMONG
The chief uses of between are:
(1) to indicate position in space or limits.
* A river flows between its banks.
* How many stations are there between
London and Oxford?
Between normally
indicate only two limits, but when boundaries are
concerned, the number may be more than two. Between (not among)
is correct in:
* Switzerland lies between France,
Italy, Austria, and Germany.
(2) to indicate position in time:
* Please come between one o’clock and
three o’clock.
* He lived in Canada between the two
World Wars.
(3) to indicate limits of distance quantity etc.:
* Between five and six kilometres, between thirty and forty tons.
* Between freezing point and boiling
point.
(4) to indicate sharing (used of two only):
* Share the money between you and Mary.
* Between you and me (i.e. in
confidence), I think he is rather foolish.
(5) to indicate connection or relationship:
* The relationship between teacher and
pupil; the distinction between right and wrong; to draw a
comparison between two things.
(6) to indicate combination (used of two or more):
* Between them the men soon finished the
work.
* The first five batsmen scored 253 runs between
them.
(7) Between … and … means owing partly to … and
partly to …
* Between astonishment and despair she hardly knew
what to do or say.
The chief uses of among (or, less often, amongst)
are:
(1) to indicate position, meaning ‘in the middle of’, ‘surrounded by’ (more
than two). Note that the noun or pronoun after among must be plural.
* A village among the hill; a house
standing among trees; sitting among her children;
hiding among the bushes.
(2) to indicate inclusion, association; connection. (Note that the noun
or pronoun must be plural)
* She was glad to be among friends
again.
* I noted, among other faults, several
spelling errors.
(3) to indicate sharing, joint activity, etc., by more than two persons.
* They quarrelled among themselves.
* They had less than ten pounds among
them (i.e. all of them together had less than ten pounds).
(4) (before a superlative) one of:
* He is among the best novelists in this
country today.
* Coventry is among the largest
industrial towns in England.