When in a sentence we want to express something in the middle of two or more people, we either use between or among. ‘Between’ is used when naming distinct, individual items (can be 2, 3, or more). ‘Among’ is used when the items are part of a group or are not specifically named (must be 3 or more). Most of the English speakers often make a common mistake while using these two words, as they are not known about the basic rule.
Difference between ‘Between’ and ‘Among’
BETWEEN
- In English, the word ‘Between’ is a preposition, and is used in sentences when we want to express something in the middle of two things.
- Between is a preposition that represents something in the middle of one that separates two things.
- Use ‘between’ when referring to one-to-one relationships.
- Basically, we use the word ‘between’ in our sentences when we want to express something being in the middle of two persons, places, objects, etc. It is a preposition but can be used as an adverb also.
- When we use between, there is a one to one relationship between entities.
- Examples: Alisha is sitting between Jane and Lavina. What is the difference between may and might?
AMONG
- In English, the word ‘among’ is also a preposition that is used in a sentence to express something as a part of a group.
- Among is also a preposition, which is used to indicate something, being a part of a group.
- Use ‘among’ when referring to indistinct or nonspecific relationships.
- We use the word ‘among’ in our sentences to refer to something which is a part of a larger group and is usually followed by a plural noun.
- We use ‘among’ when we are talking about a general relationship and not about specific relationships.
- Examples: We are not among those who smoke. Priya distributed chocolates among her friends.
The key difference between ‘Between’ and ‘Among’ lies in the fact that “Between” is used to differentiate two things and it can also be used for something which is in the middle of something, while among is used to describe that someone is part of a group. While between is used when there is something in the middle of two objects, among is used to mean something which is a part of a group. When it comes to usage, between is used when we compare or relate two persons, objects, or places. However, we can use between also when there are two or more persons are referred but the name of the entities is specifically indicated. On the contrary, among is used when the comparison is to be made between two or more objects or we want to relate multiple objects.
