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Between or among?

Between and among are prepositions.

Between, among: meaning and use​

We use between to refer to two things which are clearly separated. We use among to talk about things which are not clearly separated because they are part of a group or crowd or mass of objects:

  • Our holiday house is between the mountains and the sea. (the mountains are on one side and the sea is on the other)
  • The ancient fountain was hidden among the trees. (surrounded by trees)

Between and prepositional phrases​

Between is most often used to introduce a prepositional phrase which contains two singular or plural noun phrases:

  • There was a cyclist [prepositional phrase] between the car and the lorry.
  • I didn’t see any difference [prepositional phrase] between the real bags and the imitation bags.

We can also use between + pronoun when referring to two people or things:

  • I gave Yolanda and Lynn some money and told them to share it between them.

We can also use between, but not among, to connect times or numbers:

  • They lived in New York between 1998 and 2004.
  • Not: They lived in New York among 1998 and 2004~~.~~
  • What were you doing between 5.30 pm and 7.00 pm?

Nouns and verbs followed by between​

The most common nouns often followed by between are: connection, difference, distinction, link, relationship:

  • Is there a connection between his arrival and her disappearance?
  • There’s a strong link between clean drinking water and reduced infant mortality.

The most common verbs often followed by between are: choose, differentiate, distinguish, divide:

  • [talking about judging a competition]
  • I didn’t want to have to choose between the singers.
  • Her money was divided between her son and her daughter.

Among meaning ‘surrounding, part of or included in’​

We use among to suggest a sense of being a part of or surrounded by or included in something else. It is typically followed by a plural noun phrase:

  • She wanted to be among friends.
  • Among his books, we found some rare first editions.

Among others and among other things​

In the phrases among others and among other things, among means ‘as well as’:

  • Her parents, among others, were worried about her travelling alone.
  • Among other things*, I still have to pack.*
See also
  • Among and amongst