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I am working in a text that I use the following:

"I measure the similarities between companies."

There are many companies, but I evaluate the similarity "between" 2 companies. I mean if I have 3 companies, namely A, B, C, I have to evaluate the similarities in pairs and I provide the similarity between A and B, B and C, and A and C, i.e, three measures of similarities.

My doubt is the text above should be

"I measure the similarities among companies."

Or is it correct?

DanielTheRocketMan
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    I say your version is good. But you could also say: "...between different companies" A long time ago there was a rule that said (paraphrasing) "Use between for two objects/things/persons. Use among for multiple things/people" However, I'd suggest among if the number of things being considered is greater than 4 or 5. – Mari-Lou A Nov 19 '20 at 10:41
  • I agree it should be 'between', but how is "I measure the similarities between companies" different from "I compare companies"? (I don't think you need 'different'.) – Old Brixtonian Nov 19 '20 at 10:56
  • @OldBrixtonian "measure similarities between companies" is a technical term for me here. – DanielTheRocketMan Nov 20 '20 at 10:02
  • @Mari-LouA I knew the rule. The problem is not exactly the rule. It is about the context. I have many companies (more than 300), but I evaluate the similarity between them using pairs. – DanielTheRocketMan Nov 20 '20 at 10:06
  • If it's precision you're seeking then I suggest you preface your statement with "Although there are hundreds of companies, the similarities will be assessed/evaluated (by me) between two companies each time" Or words to that effect. Don't say "among two companies". – Mari-Lou A Nov 20 '20 at 10:39

1 Answers1

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Between is used as a comparison while among is used as a grouping word. If you are comparing 2-3 companies then "There are many companies, but I evaluate the similarity 'between' 2 companies.".

Parth Kinjal Shah
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