Grammar

between & among

 

 

Between and among are both prepositions, and they are usually followed by nouns. Let's look at

between first.

Between is usually followed by 2 nouns, like this:

…between the mountains and the sea

The nouns can be single, plural or uncountable. The important thing is that between identifies them as

2 separate, individual things (or groups of things). Here are some more examples:

Is there a connection between unemployment and crime?

He shared the money equally between Jake and Mary.

In fact, it is possible to use between with more than 2 things, as long as they are separate things.

Listen:

He shared the money equally between his 3 grandchildren, Paul, Callum and Nuala.

Now among, or amongst, gives the idea of being part of a group of many, so it's usually followed by a

plural noun phrase. Jackie says her house is:

…among the trees

And some more examples:

Her exam results put her among the top 10% of students in her group

It gets very lonely, living among strangers

Ok, let's summarise. Between distinguishes 2 or more separate things – and is followed by countable or

uncountable, single or plural nouns. Among means 'one of many', and usually goes with plural nouns.

 

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