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Possible Duplicate:
“between” vs “among”

I learned that "between" refers to two objects or concepts and "among" refers to three or more. However, in situations when I am asking about distinctions, it seems correct to say, for example, "What is the difference between a horse, a zebra, and a mule?" as opposed to saying, "What is the difference among a horse, a zebra, and a mule?"

What is the rule for questions like this about the "differences between" several things?

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jrdioko
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    The rule is: > If you are a native English speaker, say what sounds right to you. And write it, too. If you are not a native English speaker, ask a native speaker *which one "sounds better"* (but not which one is correct -- native English speakers are taught a lot of very strange ideas about so-called "correctness"). – John Lawler Dec 19 '11 at 22:58

2 Answers2

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I was taught:

  • Use between when you're talking about individual items -- even if there are more than two of them: "She was stuck between a Rock, a Hard Place, and a Hard Rock Cafe."
  • Use among when you're talking about things that aren't distinct: "Dissension and dissatisfaction spread among the followers of Binky."

Grammar Girl must have had the same teacher.

Gnawme
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The rule is:

If you are a native English speaker, say what sounds right to you. And write it, too.

If you are not a native English speaker, ask a native speaker which one "sounds better" (but not which one is correct -- native English speakers are taught a lot of very strange ideas about so-called "correctness").

John Lawler
  • 107,887