Between vs. Among - Which One Is Right? | English Grammar Lesson

Clear communication, correct grammar and avoiding mistakes.

These are all common goals among my students and because you're here,

I know you have the same goals.

The good news is in this Confident English lesson today,

you're going to take one more step toward reaching those goals by

understanding two commonly confused words in English,

between and among what exactly is the difference and how

do you know which one is right. In this lesson,

I want to clear up any potentially confusing advice you might find online.

I also want to give you practical examples you can follow so that you know how

and when to use between or among. Plus,

if you ever feel unsure in the moment of speaking,

I'll give you a simple tip to follow.

But first, if you don't already know, I am Annemarie,

an English confidence and fluency coach.

Everything I do is designed to help you to get the confidence you want for your

life and work in English.

If you'd love to get free resources for me or find all of my past

Confident English lessons, you can visit my Speak Confident English website.

While you're there,

you can also download my free in-depth How to Say What You Want in English

training. That training will give you a simple strategy so that you stop

feeling stuck when speaking in English.

It will also help you improve your overall confidence and fluency. Now,

there are two things I want to do at the start of this lesson. First,

I want to talk about why these two words are easily confused leading to common

mistakes and I want to address some helpful but

not entirely accurate advice you might find online.

So why are these easily confused?

The truth is there are times when between and among have

overlapping or similar meanings. It depends on how they're used.

In a few moments, you are going to learn some distinct differences.

In other words,

situations in which you have to make a choice between using the word between

or among,

but there are times when you can use either word correctly.

Let me give you two example sentences to highlight this.

He divided the ice cream between the kids.

He divided the ice cream among the kids.

Both sentences are perfectly correct. In each case,

the words between and among indicate that something was divided or shared,

and this is what leads to the confusion,

the fact that sometimes you can use either word and both are right.

And then there are other instances when you have to make a choice. Now,

before we get into all of that,

I also want to highlight some common advice you'll find online.

It's advice that can be helpful, but again, it's not entirely accurate.

You might learn that the word between should only be used when there are two

people or two things. For example,

he divided the ice cream between his two kids and you might

learn that among should only be used when there are three or more.

He divided the ice cream among the kids.

This would assume that there are three or more kids,

but this oversimplified rule isn't entirely accurate.

The truth is, I can use the word between even if there are more than two,

for example,

I can't decide between the chocolate hazelnut or mint ice cream.

This sentence works perfectly well in just a moment.

We're going to explore the words between and among in depth so you will learn

exactly when you have to make a choice between them or when both could

be used,

and this will ensure accuracy in your grammar when you speak or write.

However, if you ever feel unsure,

if you're in the middle of a conversation and think, oh shoot,

I can't remember exactly what the rules are,

then you can use this oversimplified advice. It can be helpful.

If you're talking about two things, you can use the word between.

If you're talking about more than two,

you can use among and now let's get into the details so you know

precisely what is the difference and which one to use.

We're going to discuss five different uses of these two words,

and the first one is focused on prepositions of place like the

prepositions in on or at prepositions of place.

Help us understand spatial relations and they answer the

question, where or where is something located? Where is something placed?

The words between and among can also be used as prepositions

of place,

and this is when that oversimplified advice is

accurate.

If you are using the word between as a preposition of place to indicate where

something is located,

then we use it when there are two things that are separate or

distinct and I'll give you an example in a moment,

but first let's talk a little bit about the word among as a preposition of place

when you're using it to help us understand the location of something.

We use it when something is part of a group and when there are three or more

things.

Let's look at several example sentences so we can see how to follow these rules

accurately. Sentence one,

the state of Nebraska is located between Colorado and

Iowa.

Notice that the preposition between helps us understand where Nebraska

is located. Also,

we're indicating that it's located between two distinct places.

One is Colorado, the other is Iowa. Here's another example.

The book you're looking for is on the shelf between the flower vase and

the small statue. Again,

we have a specific location and two distinct items,

a flower vase and a small statue.

And now let's take a look at two examples using among,

I finally found my keys among the clutter on my desk

here. The word clutter describes multiple things that are part of one group.

We don't really know what all the distinct things are in this clutter.

It might be pens, notebooks, papers, books, pencils,

paperclips and so on. We don't really know.

It's just all part of one group,

so the word among is the right choice. A second example,

this restaurant is among the best in this part of the city here.

The word among is helping us understand the location in this part of the city

and we're talking about restaurants in general or a group of restaurants.

We aren't distinguishing between individual restaurants

With these rules in mind,

let's do a quick pop quiz and then we'll go on to use number two.

In this pop quiz,

I have two sentences and I want you to decide which preposition of place

between or among should you use. Number one,

I dropped my earring, the dresser and the wall.

What do you think? And number two,

the building is some of the oldest buildings on the east side.

What do you think if you selected between? For number one,

you're absolutely right,

we're talking about a specific location between two things,

between the dresser and the wall. In sentence number two,

among is the right choice. We're talking about a location, the east side,

and we're talking about a group of buildings without any distinction

or separation. And now use number two,

the words between and among can be used to indicate that something is being

shared or divided,

and this is where we can use these two words interchangeably.

Just like the two sentences I shared earlier,

he divided the ice cream between the kids and among the kids.

Let's take a look at two more examples so that we can see this in use.

They decided to share the prize money between them or

they decided to share the prize money among them.

Both can be used and we're focused on using the words to

indicate that something has been shared. A second example,

it would be easier if we divided the tasks between the three of us or it

would be easier if we divided the tasks among the three of us. Again,

either one can be used and both are correct.

The key is using these words to indicate that something is

being shared or divided. And now use Number three,

we're going to look at four distinct situations in which we can

only use the word between.

The first is for comparisons and relationships.

If you want to draw comparisons or highlight the relationships between

things or people, between is the best choice. For example,

I loved living in Washington dc, Paris and Monterey.

That said there are quite a few differences between them.

Here I'm using the word between to help me draw some comparisons.

A second example,

there's a strong link between regular exercise,

consistent sleep and overall physical health.

Here I'm highlighting the relationship or drawing some comparisons between

things and the word between helps me do that.

The second situation when we want to choose the word between is when we're

talking about timeframes.

If you need to describe a particular period of time or range of times,

for example, if you're trying to schedule an appointment,

you want to choose the word between. For example,

the technician will arrive between two and 3:00 PM The conference

will run between November 25th and November 28th.

They'll be traveling in Spain between June and July.

The third situation in which you'll want to use the word between is when you're

talking about making choices or decisions. For example,

you might explain to someone else the different options you have and the fact

that you're struggling to make a choice. In that explanation,

you'll want to choose the word between. For example,

I'm having a hard time choosing between the gray pants or the navy pants.

What do you think?

Or she got accepted into all three of her preferred universities

and now she needs to make a choice between them. And finally,

the fourth situation,

when you want to use the word between is when you're highlighting discussions or

negotiations.

Here I've got two example sentences for you and in both you'll see that we're

highlighting a discussion,

a negotiation or an agreement or disagreement between two or more

people, groups or companies.

The negotiations between the three big tech companies broke down last night,

example two. When there's a political disagreement between my sisters,

I prefer to stay out of it In a few moments,

I'm going to share some practice opportunities with you.

I want you to practice what you've learned so that you're applying these rules

which will help you remember how to use them in the moment.

But first, let's go on to use number four.

We're going to look at a situation when we can only use the word among

and that's when we're talking about inclusion or happenings within a group.

Whether you want to say that something is true, something exists,

something is happening, or is included in a group,

we use the word among. Let's take a look at several example sentences.

Nebraska is among several Midwestern states in the United States.

In this sentence,

we're highlighting that Nebraska is included or is part of a group of

states. Now,

you might remember earlier we indicated that Nebraska is

between Colorado and Iowa. In that circumstance,

we were talking about a specific location we were using between

as a preposition of place and we were indicating that it was between

two distinct locations. In this example,

we're indicating that it's part of a group.

It is among the Midwestern states in the us example

two,

these countries are among the few selected to participate in the competition.

Again, in this example,

the word among indicates that a group of countries has been selected to

participate in a competition. Example,

three slang is often used among teenagers.

This is something that is true or that exists within a group.

And our fourth example,

friendships grow among those who invest genuine time and energy.

Before we get to our practice,

I want to share our final use and here we're going to look at common

expressions that use the word between expressions that you're likely to hear

in conversations at work, conversation with friends.

The first is between you and me.

This expression is often used when sharing a secret or

confidential information.

It suggests that the information you're going to share should be kept private.

For example, between you and me,

I heard that Sarah is planning to resign before the end of the year.

If someone were to say that to you,

they're telling you that this information is confidential or it should be a

secret.

The second expression on our list is between a rock and a hard place.

This idiomatic expression is used to indicate that someone has to make a choice

between two equally difficult or unfavorable options.

It suggests that there's a dilemma. For example,

I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I don't know if I should accept the job with longer hours or if

I should accept the job with lower pay. Of course,

neither of those options is favorable.

No one wants to work longer hours and no one wants lower pay.

They're unfavorable or difficult choices,

and using that expression I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place

indicates that there's a dilemma between these unfavorable options.

The third expression on our list today, read between the lines.

When you read between the lines,

it means that you understand a hidden message or

a meaning that is implied, something that isn't directly said.

For example, she didn't say it directly,

but I could read between the lines and I could tell that she was unhappy.

And finally, our fourth expression for today to fall between the cracks.

This means that something or someone has been forgotten or

overlooked due to a failure in a process or system.

Have you ever had so many things to do on your list that you

forgot one or two of them or you overlooked them?

There was a failure in your process for tracking all of your to-do items.

I've definitely had that happen. I've had a few things fall through the cracks.

Here's another example sentence of how you might use it.

The new policy caused some important cases to fall between

the cracks. If there was a new policy in place,

perhaps the process of applying that policy had not

been perfected yet. As a result,

some cases or some issues with clients fell between the cracks,

they were overlooked or forgotten.

You now have a complete overview of why

between and among are commonly confused.

You've learned situations in which you can use both of them and be correct.

You've learned instances when you have to make a choice between the two,

and you have several common expressions we use in English with the word between.

So now let's do some practice.

I have four sentences for you and I want you to choose whether you should use

between or among or whether you can use both.

You'll find my answers in the comments below the video

sentence. Number one, we divided the inheritance,

the grandchildren, what do you think.

Between among or both sentence? Two,

help me choose which job offer I should accept.

I can't decide. Number three,

learning to say no is the best advice I've ever

received when it comes to self-care. And number four, it's open to you.

I want you to choose one of the four expressions you learned here today between

you and I, between the cracks, between a rock and a hard place,

or to read between the lines.

Choose one of those four expressions and try using it in your own example

sentence. You can share your example with me in the comments below.

And don't forget,

that's also where you'll find my answers to the first three sentences in

this practice activity. With that, thank you so much for joining me.

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