Obstacle's words of the day: among vs. between - 未名空间MITBBS历史存档

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Obstacle's words of the day: among vs. between

Obstacle's words of the day: among vs. between# EnglishChat - 鸟语花香

O*e2008-04-08 07:04

1 楼

When do you use "among" and when do you use "between"?
I think there are cases where "from" is correct word instead.
Think about this, and discuss if interested.

n*r2008-04-08 07:04

2 楼

Why this need to be discussed? It seems to me that the differences are
obvious.
Ex: He's the tallest among them.
This is a secret between you and me, don't tell anybody else.
I'm from China.

【在 O******e 的大作中提到】

: When do you use "among" and when do you use "between"?
: I think there are cases where "from" is correct word instead.
: Think about this, and discuss if interested.

O*e2008-04-08 07:04

3 楼

I know it's not obvious to everybody since many people use these
two words incorrectly.
Some people say that "between" is used when talking about two things,
and "among" for three or more, but that is not the important distinction
between these words because "between" can also be used when talking
about three or more things.
The two examples you gave are correct, though.

【在 n********r 的大作中提到】

: Why this need to be discussed? It seems to me that the differences are
: obvious.
: Ex: He's the tallest among them.
: This is a secret between you and me, don't tell anybody else.
: I'm from China.

n*r2008-04-08 07:04

4 楼

Could you give me an example?

【在 O******e 的大作中提到】

: I know it's not obvious to everybody since many people use these
: two words incorrectly.
: Some people say that "between" is used when talking about two things,
: and "among" for three or more, but that is not the important distinction
: between these words because "between" can also be used when talking
: about three or more things.
: The two examples you gave are correct, though.

O*e2008-04-08 07:04

5 楼

"The North American Free Trade Agreement between U.S., Canada and Mexico ..."
("between" used with three entities)
"The superb and enthusiastic effort among the two teams playing in the
charity softball game helped raise $xxxxx for yyyyy."
("among" used with two entities)
"The two thieves divded the loot equally between them."
("between used with two entities)
"The three thieves disagreed on how to divide the loot among themselves,
and a fight broke out between them."
("among" and "between" used

【在 n********r 的大作中提到】

: Could you give me an example?

n*r2008-04-08 07:04

6 楼

My teacher didn't teach me the correct grammar.
I checked m-w.com, not very informative to me

.."

【在 O******e 的大作中提到】

: "The North American Free Trade Agreement between U.S., Canada and Mexico ..."
: ("between" used with three entities)
: "The superb and enthusiastic effort among the two teams playing in the
: charity softball game helped raise $xxxxx for yyyyy."
: ("among" used with two entities)
: "The two thieves divded the loot equally between them."
: ("between used with two entities)
: "The three thieves disagreed on how to divide the loot among themselves,
: and a fight broke out between them."
: ("among" and "between" used

O*e2008-04-08 07:04

7 楼

This isn't a problem of grammar. It is about semantics (the meaning
of the words). Whether you should use "among" or "between" depends
both on the number of things and the relation between them.

【在 n********r 的大作中提到】

: My teacher didn't teach me the correct grammar.
: I checked m-w.com, not very informative to me
:
: .."

n*r2008-04-08 07:04

8 楼

are you major in linguistics?

【在 O******e 的大作中提到】

: This isn't a problem of grammar. It is about semantics (the meaning
: of the words). Whether you should use "among" or "between" depends
: both on the number of things and the relation between them.

O*e2008-04-08 07:04

9 楼

No.

【在 n********r 的大作中提到】

: are you major in linguistics?

O*e2008-04-08 07:04

10 楼

How about:
"Let's keep this a secret among ourselves."
I don't think "between" sounds right here, even if only two persons are
involved. I think
"Let's keep this a secret between us."
is incorrect, because the indirect object is reflexive (the same as
the subject), so "ourselves" should be used instead of "us", and
"between" should be used when the persons are acting separately but
interacting with each other, whereas "among" should be used when
the persons are acting together. In my example a

【在 n********r 的大作中提到】

s*s2008-04-08 07:04

11 楼

good examples. I didn't realize the 2nd one could work too. thanks, ob.
between means 两两之间
among means 之中（感觉更虚指一些）

.."

【在 O******e 的大作中提到】

O*e2008-04-08 07:04

12 楼

"Between" also implies the people are acting separately or dealing with
each other, and "among" implies that the people are acting together, and
the usage isn't always dependent on the number of people.
It seems to me that after "between" we should be able to say "A and B (and
C (and D, etc))", but the object following "among" should be a collective
that isn't separable.
"Harry is the hairiest among the three boys." sound okay, but
"Harry is the hairiest among Tom, Dick, and Harry." sounds wierd

【在 s**s 的大作中提到】

: good examples. I didn't realize the 2nd one could work too. thanks, ob.
: between means 两两之间
: among means 之中（感觉更虚指一些）
:
: .."

s*s2008-04-08 07:04

13 楼

sounds right, but "between us"/"among us" is more common, I think. maybe it'
s because a secret is usually between two: 天知地知你知我知.

【在 O******e 的大作中提到】

: How about:
: "Let's keep this a secret among ourselves."
: I don't think "between" sounds right here, even if only two persons are
: involved. I think
: "Let's keep this a secret between us."
: is incorrect, because the indirect object is reflexive (the same as
: the subject), so "ourselves" should be used instead of "us", and
: "between" should be used when the persons are acting separately but
: interacting with each other, whereas "among" should be used when
: the persons are acting together. In my example a

s*s2008-04-08 07:04

14 楼

bm~ mark~

【在 O******e 的大作中提到】

: "Between" also implies the people are acting separately or dealing with
: each other, and "among" implies that the people are acting together, and
: the usage isn't always dependent on the number of people.
: It seems to me that after "between" we should be able to say "A and B (and
: C (and D, etc))", but the object following "among" should be a collective
: that isn't separable.
: "Harry is the hairiest among the three boys." sound okay, but
: "Harry is the hairiest among Tom, Dick, and Harry." sounds wierd