Among and between are both prepositions used to describe how objects, people, or things relate to one another. They’re often used interchangeably in everyday speech and informal writing. However, for complete precision, they should be used in slightly different contexts.
In this post, we’ll discuss among vs. between and, with practical example sentences, demonstrate how they’re different.
The word among is a preposition that describes the position or relationship of something within a group or amid several items. In general, among is used to indicate that something is situated or exists within a collection, as opposed to being separate or distinct from it. For example:
In the first example, the coin is part of a group of papers, and in the second example, the ring is somewhere within a pile of jewelry. The use of among indicates that neither object is separate from the larger group.
The word between is a preposition used to describe how two things or people relate to one another. Use between to suggest a sense of separation or distinction. For example:
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You can also use between to discuss the spatial positioning of two things:
And to indicate intervals of time:
In summary, between is used to indicate a relationship or state that involves the separation/distinction of two specific things. Among refers to something that is situated or exists within a larger context. For example:
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