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Subject:Re: Between (among?) you, me, and the bitnet From:Virginia Krenn <asdxvlk -at- OKWAY -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU> Date:Fri, 17 Jun 1994 07:42:01 CDT
According to Handbook of Technical Writing (Brusaw, Alred, and Oliu):
Between is normally used to relate two items or persons.
Among is used to relate more than two.
According to The American Heritage Dictionary:
Between (rather than among) is the correct preposition when only
two persons or things serve as objects.
Among is applied to three or more when they are considered
collectively and no close relationship is indicated (spoils
divided among the machine's backers).
Seventy percent of the Usage Panel accept 'between' as the proper
choice when more than two are involved, provided they are
considered individually and in a close working relationship (a
treaty between five nations)
Thirty percent of the Usage Panel invariably restricts 'between' to
two and 'among' to more than two.
Hope this helps. It seems a little confusing, so I think I'll go along
with the 30% group of the Usage Panel.
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Between (among?) you, me, and the bitnet
Author: millerb -at- tcplink -dot- nrel -dot- gov at SMTP
Date: 6/16/94 10:08 PM
According to Bernstein's The Careful Writer, "When three or more
things are brought into a relationship severally and
reciprocally, 'between' is proper."
