"Between" Versus "Among"

Between Versus Among

You may have noticed that I said we were going to talk about the
difference between the words between and among. I used the
word between because I was talking about a choice that involves
two distinct words.
Many people believe between should be used for choices involving
two items and among for choices that involve more than two items.
That can get you to the right answer some of the time, but it's not that
simple (1, 2, 3, 4).
Here's the deal: you can use the word between when you are
talking about distinct, individual items even if there are more than two
of them. For example, you could say, "She chose between Harvard,
Brown, and Yale" because the colleges are individual items.

Relationships
The Chicago Manual of Style describes these as one-to-one
relationships. Sometimes they are between two items, groups, or
people, as in these sentences:
Choose between Squiggly and Aardvark.
Let's keep this between you and me.
Other times they can be between more than two items, groups, or
people as in these sentences:
The negotiations between the cheerleaders, the dance squad, and the
flag team were going well despite the confetti incident.
The differences between English, Chinese, and Arabic are significant.
On the other hand, you use among when you are talking about
things that aren't distinct items or individuals; for example, if you were
talking about colleges collectively you could say, "She chose among
the Ivy League schools."
If you are talking about a group of people, you also use among:
Fear spread among the hostages.
The scandal caused a division among the fans.
Squiggly and Aardvark are among the residents featured in the
newsletter.

Part of a Group
Among can also indicate that someone is part of a group or left out
of a group, as in these examples:
He was glad to find a friend among enemies.
She felt like a stranger among friends.
Sylvia was later found living among the natives.
It's not as simple as using between for two things and among for more.

Location
Between and among can also tell the reader different things
about location or direction. Think about the difference between these
two sentences:
Squiggly walked between the trees.
Squiggly walked among the trees.
Squiggly walked between the trees gives you the idea that he
stayed on the path; he either walked between two trees or was on a
route that was surrounded by trees.
On the other hand, Squiggly walked among the trees gives you the
idea that he wandered around a park or forest. He may have had an
endpoint in mind, but it doesn't sound as if he went from point A to
point B on a defined path.

Among Versus Amongst

Finally, people sometimes ask about the difference between among
and amongst. Both words mean the same thing, but amongst is
the older form and is more commonly used in Britain than in the United
States. It's considered archaic and overly formal or even pretentious in
American English (5). The only time I can think of when it would be
appropriate for an American writer to use it would be in fiction set in a
different era or world. Something like:
Is it truly safe to walk amongst the peasants, my lord?

Between, the Preposition

Two more notes on between. Its often used as a preposition, and
when it is, use the objective case of the pronouns just between you
and me, thats between him and her, theres a rift between
them and us.

"Between," "Compared to," and "Compared

With"

Verbal ambiguity can lead to a range of confusing scenarios. Guestwriter Rob Reinalda explains.

How to Use Between

Someone once said, Between Springfield and St. Louis theres only
one brain surgeon.
Oh, came the puzzled reply. Do you mean that if you combine all the
medical professionals in those two cities, theres only one brain
surgeon?
Or do you mean that within the territory that one must traverse to
pass from one city to the other, theres only one brain surgeon?
Turns out, it was the latter--there's only one brain surgeon practicing in
the region between Springfield and St. Louis.
As with many words that have multiple interpretations or applications,
between can create confusion.
Between 2003 and 2004 one might write. Guess what? There is
nothing between 2003 and 2004. Theres not an infinitesimal fragment
of time there; its one year or the other.
If you use between 2003 and 2004 construction, you may be trying
to describe a time spanning all or part of those two years or you may
be trying to contrast one year against the other, and there are better
ways to do both.
For example, let's say you want to you want to talk inclusively about
2003 and 2004. You could write In 2003 and 2004 or From 2003
through 2004
"From 2003 through 2004" is still a bit nebulous, as youre not
specifying when in 2003 your starting point is. From the start of
2003 through 2004 makes it clear that you mean from the
beginning of 2003 through the end of 2004.
If you want to contrast two years, make that clear, too: In 2004, more
than 3,500 bison flew out of the Buffalo airport, contrasted with
2003, when only 1,900 buffalo took wing.

How to Use "Compared To" and "Compared With"

[[AdMiddle]As an aside, because compared to" and "compared
with constructions are so widelyalmost zealouslybotched, spare
yourself. Use liken to and contrast with, and youll save yourself
about a hundred bucks a year in headache remedies. However, if you
must, heres the tip: Compare to refers to similarities, and
compare with indicates considering both similarities and
differences (1, 2).

For example, Squiggly could compare a flying bison's take off to that
of a Chinook helicopter. When he uses "compare to," he's noting the
similarity. On the other hand, Aardvark could compare a bison with a
Chinook helicopter to look for clues about how a bison could fly. When
he uses "compare with," he's examining both things that are the
same between a helicopter and a bison, and things that are different.

How to Use the Word Ranges

Make sure your range really spans something.

Very often a writer will use a range in mentioning a collection of

distinct yet closely related elements: Contributors range from
internal communicators to external communicators to public relations
professionals to journalists to bloggers. Gee, thats not much of a
range, is it?
The tip on using the word ranges is this: Make sure your range
really spans something. Imagine that the range is like the one in the
song Home on the Rangeoffering a wide, expansive view, of an
entire landscape from end to end. Your range can span many things-time, size, the alphabet, a continuum of dress designs throughout the
ages.
The totem poles in the display ranged from three feet to four feet
tall.
Her hair color over the years had ranged from platinum blond to
raven black.
If you're describing a collection of things, use the words "as diverse
as" or "as varied as" instead of "range" (3, 4): His collectibles were
as diverse as steam calliopes, odd-shaped persimmons, and
Esperanto bartender guides.
"Include" also works. Contributors include internal communicators,
journalists, and bloggers. Remember this, though: When you use
include, dont list every contributor (or whatever). Those who are
included are a subset of the entirety.