Posts Tagged ‘between’

Between and Among

March 25th, 2011 in Words

Between is used to say that somebody or something is between two or more clearly separate people or things. We use among when somebody or something is in a group of people or things which we do not see separately.

The letter B is between A and C.
Susie sat between Alice and Mary.
The mother sat among her children.
The rich merchant divided his property among his sons.

We can use between to talk about intervals and time limits.

I will be here between eight and ten.

We use divide between and share between before a series of singular nouns. Before a plural noun, both between and among can be used.

He divided his property between his son, his daughter and his grandson.
I shared the food among/between my friends.

Note that after difference only between can be used.

What are the differences between a triangle, a rectangle and a square? (NOT What are the differences among a triangle, a rectangle and a square?)

Notes

After between we use and, not to.

The meeting will be held between four and six. (NOT The meeting will be held between four to six.)

Or we can use from…to…

The meeting will be held from four to six.