皆さんこんにちは。
ILC国際語学センターです。

John先生のミニレッスン、第7回目は「Among or between?」についてです。

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A common question students have is about the difference between the words among and between. In the previous sentence, the word between was used, and since there were only two words to be compared, we can conclude that the word between is used for two items of comparison. This is common. We use between when we want to express a more specific relation to things and have them considered as individual and usually equal entities.

What about three words? Should we not use between and use among for three words or items?
For example, let`s compare (1) "What is the difference between the words impeccable, immaculate, and ineffable?" and (2) "What is the difference among the words impeccable, immaculate, and ineffable?" The first sentence sounds natural even though we have a list of three words. In addition, the verb "is" indicates that there is only one difference. Between the three words, there should be three differences taken individually paired. The question should be "What are the differences between the three words, impeccable, immaculate, and ineffable, taken individually as two-word pairs?"

Using the word among also sounds good here: "What are the differences among the words impeccable, immaculate, and ineffable?" However, by definition, among is the best word to use when referring to things collectively and imprecisely: "... among the crowd of people." By specifying the actual words and the specific relationships as discrete entities of these 2-word pairs, the word between is probably best to use in the 3-word example.

Then, an example from an English language textbook was given: "I deal with problems of relations between staff." The word staff is a collective noun indicating a group, or the members of the group. Should not the word among be used? Well, now we see the way that these two words can be used almost interchangeably in many cases. Between is used in more general cases too, but not always.
Listen to the way native English speakers use these words, among and between, and follow your communicative instincts.

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※John先生が開発したグローバルリーダー向け英語プログラムは、様々なビジネスシチュエーションに特化した英語スキルに焦点をあて、論理性と説得力のある英語力を養成します。
詳細はこちらからお問い合わせください。

担当教師

John　Mukts　（ILC企業研修主任）

日本での英語教授歴20年以上、数々の企業にてビジネスパーソンやグローバルリーダー向け英語研修を担当。ILCの主任教師としてプレゼンテーション・ミーティングなどのビジネスに焦点をおいたGLLT（Global Leadership Language Training)コース開発やオリジナルテキスト開発に従事。