BETWEEN vs AMONG

Question

Can anyone help me clarify:

1. From the GMATCLUB Ultimate grammar book and other sources, I understood that you can use BETWEEN for three or more subjects if they are distinctively mentioned.

However, in MGMAT Sentence Corrections, the authors instruct to use Between for 2, and among for 3 or more. They even have the following Right or Wrong question:

The negotiations between the company, the union, and the city government were initially contentious but ultimately amicable.

My answer was RIGHT.

But their answer is WRONG: Use AMONG!

So can anyone tell me what is the actual GMAT rule?

Regards,

q10nik.

BKimball · Answer

q10nik,

Good question! The rule is the one you saw in the Manhattan GMAT book: Use "between" for two items / people and "among" for three or more. This is similar to the rules about superlatives (below) in that there really aren't exceptions you need to worry about:

Superlatives:

-"I like coffee BETTER than tea." --> This is correct. Use "better" to compare two things. You would never use "best" in this instance.
-"Among coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, I like coffee BEST." --> Also correct. You're comparing three or more things, so you need to use "best." You wouldn't say "better" here.

Between/Among follows the same principle as better/best and other superlatives.

Hope that helps!

Brett

rohitmanglik · Answer

What's the verdict? Does GMATCLUB Ultimate grammar book need revision on that part?

ankit7agarwal · Answer

is this sentence wrong?

The negotiations among the company, the union, and the city government were initially contentious but  were  ultimately amicable.

akhilvamangari · Answer

Between is used when two things are compared and Among is used for more that two.

dexter12345 · Answer

Are you sure? I checked a lot of forums online and it appears that Between can be used when distinct items are mentioned. Thus it appears that the Manhattan GMAT needs to be revised and GMATClub grammar book is correct in this regard. Can someone clarify please?  BKimball

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi  dexter12345 , are you suggesting that the sentence should be:

Between  coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, I like coffee the best .

I would be really interested to know if you have come across any  official  sentence using  between  in such scenarios.

dexter12345 · Answer

Thanks  EducationAisle . I was going through the GMATClub Grammar book, and it says this:
However, between can also be used when talking about a distinct relationship of more than two individual items, groups, or people

Examples:
Johnny had to decide between going to Europe, buying a new car, or staying in college. 
Business negotiations between the governments of the United States, China and South America are going well despite cultural differences.

EducationAisle · Answer

No...I was actually looking for an  official  question.

BETWEEN vs AMONG

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