Battle betwixt ‘among’ and ‘between’

Whoever thought that two simple prepositions such as ‘among’ and ‘between’ would lead to cognitive dissonance and despair for those who use English?

About five or six decades ago when Wren and Martin’s High School Grammar and Composition was the standard textbook, English teachers stressed that ‘between’ is used with two people or things and ‘among’ with more than two. The two grammarians gave examples to drive home the point:

“Between Nose and Eyes a strange contest arose.”
“Polyandry still exists among certain tribes.”

English being a vibrant living language, grammar too undergoes change from time to time. In fact, grammar is not something god-given. It is a set of rules based on convention. So, they are subject to change. Unlike in Sri Lanka, where everything seems to go unchallenged, English speakers and writers in other countries do not keep quiet when something bothers them.

In fact, a native American reader was struck by the subtitle of Lester Thurow’s book Head to Head: The Coming Economic Battle Among Japan, Europe and America. The reader wrote to the author saying that it should be “Between Japan, Europe and America.” The New York Times supported her contention saying “Between is correct in reference to more than two when the items are related (both) severally and individually.” The newspaper gave an example:

“The talks between the three powers ended in agreement to divide the responsibility among them.”

Relationship

Hot on the heels of the New York Times’ comment, the Associated Press Stylebook said, “Between introduces two items and among introduces more than two. However, it qualified its statement by saying that between can be used when expressing the relationship of three or more items considered one pair at a time:

“Negotiations took place between the network and Clinton, Bush and Perot committees.”

Long before Wren and Martin wrote High School Grammar and Composition, Samuel Johnson, in his dictionary published in 1755, said between is properly used of two and among of more. He saw “tween” as meaning “twains, two” and therefore decided that it would be proper to limit the division to two. However, in 1828 Noah Webster disagreed with Samuel Johnson and said, “Between is not restricted to two.”

Where do we stand today in the between and among controversy? For this we have to consider some of the authoritative opinions expressed by modern grammarians. The Oxford English Dictionary, edited by Sir James A.H. Murray, in 1888 put an end to the raging controversy. He said, “In all senses between has been, from its earliest appearance, extended to more than two.” He said that between was still the only word available to many surrounding things severally and individually, among expressing a relation to them collectively and vaguely.

Logic

Even modern grammarians seem to support Murray’s views. For instance, Bryson’s Dictionary for Writers and Editors says, “A few authorities insist that among applies to more than two things and between to only two. However, by this logic you would have to say that St Louis is among California, New York and Michigan, not between them.”

The dictionary recommended that among should be applied to collective arrangements and between to reciprocal arrangements. So, we can say, “A treaty was signed between the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.”

A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, two eminent modern grammarians, too agree with the earlier view. In their path-breaking book A Practical English Grammar the authors say that between normally relates a person or thing to two other people or things. But it can be used of more than two people or things when we have a definite number in mind. For instance, “Luxembourg lies between Belgium, Germany and France.” On the other hand, among relates a person or thing to more than two. In this situation we have no definite number in mind.

Memorable

Ronald Carter and Michael McCarthy, in their authoritative Cambridge Grammar of English, say that between can sometimes be used to refer to more than two people or things, especially where the people or things are seen as individually separated from one another. They give two memorable examples:

“I gave her money for the three children to divide between them.”
“There are some big gaps between the floorboards in our living room.”

Collins’ Complete Writing Guide too supports the above view. It says that between can be used to connect two people, objects or ideas. For example, “There is little difference between the two of them.” Among is used in connection with several entities: “There is little difference among all five candidates.” The book clearly says that where several things are considered individually, between might be a better choice. For instance, “He divided the reward equally between five of us.”

It is also worth remembering that when describing a choice, between is followed by and, not or: It is a matter of choosing between Jane and George (not Jane or George).

Now that the controversy over between and among is settled, some writers still wonder whether to use amongst instead of among. According to modern grammarians, we should reserve amongst for literary writing.