My native language isn't English, so sometimes some doubts come up.
I learned the rule as : "between" is for 2 things/people and "among" is for more than 2.
The other day I was going to say "between" men and women, and I didn't know if that was correct. Should I use between or among?
Even though I used 2 words, they are in plural, so I am not sure what to do in these cases.
2007-02-13 06:53:40 · 32 answers · asked by madgirl_br86 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
It depends...between is usually used for contrasts ("between men and women, men are messier") or when there is a third thing involved ("a secret between friends" or "it's between third street and fifth street")
Among is used to pick one thing out of a group ("among the cheerleaders, the captain was loudest") or to describe something within the group ("stress is common among adult men and women")
I guess the best way to remember is that between usually means "in the middle of", whereas among usually means "within".
English is confusing, but I hope this helps!
2007-02-13 07:04:38 · answer #1 · answered by Crys H. 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Between is a word meaning 'with one on either side' and so would be used when you are describing the thing in the middle of 2 others for instance the filling in a sandwhich. The distance between 2 countires.
Tween coming from Twain or twin meaning 2.
Among means 'within a collection of' and so would be used when describing something or someone within a group of things or people.
EG. Can you see our car among all the others? Wally is hidden among a crowd of people. etc.
2007-02-13 19:15:45 · answer #2 · answered by marvelous_mad_madam_mim 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are correct and in all honesty your English is probably better than many English born people. When you are saying BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN you are referring to just 2 groups so it is correct. If you are saying that men and women are all in the same group as in AMONG MEN AND WOMEN THE COLOUR RED IS THE MOST POPULAR then you can say AMONG MEN AND WOMEN THE COLOUR RED IS MOST POPULAR.As men and women are in this case in the same group. Well done for making the effort to speak English and good luck.
2007-02-13 23:27:11 · answer #3 · answered by ANF 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are absolutely right. Between 2, among more than 2.
In your example, between men and women, it is between 2 groups, the fact that they are plural groups doesn't matter.
2007-02-14 00:18:54 · answer #4 · answered by skaters mam 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your written English is better than most of us achieve!
You are correct, "between" is used between two, as in "the distance between two points" or "There was an air of tension between Fred and Emily".
"Among" is used when there is a group of things, such as "Among inkjet printers, Epson is considered the best brand". (That's not an advertisement, by the way, just an illustration!)
Having said that, English is a language often used sloppily by native speakers, so anyone who manages to learn it properly has made a considerable achievement.
2007-02-13 20:33:47 · answer #5 · answered by champer 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's one of the most sensible questions I've seen on Y!A.
Without the context, it's difficult to say.
"What's the difference BETWEEN men and women?" is correct.
I think that if something precedes 'men & women', even the word 'the', then you would tend to use 'among/amongst', e.g. "I shared the prize among all the men and women in the group." In this case, the use of 'between' would indicate 50% for the men and 50% for the women, whereas 'among' suggests that they all got an equal amount, even if the number of men was more than the number of women, or the other way round.
Hope I'm not confusing you too much!
What's your first language?
2007-02-13 07:48:11 · answer #6 · answered by JJ 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
it all depends on context i'm afraid, though you may find it helps to use amongst instead of among. For example if you were talking of "the differences between men and women", you definitely could not use among. However, if you were saying "Opinions differed amongst the ( groups of ) men and women", you could get away with between but amongst is preferable.
2007-02-14 04:59:14 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Among means that there is a third or a fourth, while between means there is only two. For example, among the four candidates, Jackson, Adams, Crawford, or Clay, who would you pick to be the next president? Between the two candidate, Adams and Jackson, who would you vote for, for the presidency?
2007-02-14 04:53:39 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
your rule of thumb is sound, it is as you state
between is for 2 people or things, among is for more than 2 people or things, however be careful as there are some references when we use plurals as a singular for example:
the difference between men and women
(here you are reffering to Men as 1 thing and women as another thing)
when among men and women
(here you are reffering to more than 1 man and more than 1 woman)
2007-02-14 00:53:51 · answer #9 · answered by hardcore_pawn 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In your case, it´s correct to use "among men and women".
When you have clearly two things or two people, you should use "between", as you said.
But, if you don´t know exactly the number of things or people involved, or if it´s not involved exactly two things or people, you should always use "among".
So, among men, among women, among men and women, etc.
Have a good day.
2007-02-14 00:05:37 · answer #10 · answered by jnacet 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋