Confusing English Words – among / between

بسیاری از کلمات وجود دارند که معنی یکسانی دارند، اما در واقع تعاریف و کاربردهای مختلفی دارند.
شما می خواهید درست صحبت کنید و از به کار بردن کلمات نادرست خودداری کنید، اما در مورد معنی دقیق و کاربرد هر کلمه کاملا مطمئن نیستید.
بعضی از زبان آموزان حتی به دلیل تردیدهایشان از به کار بردن کلمات خودداری می کنند!

هدف ما در این سری از پست ها روشن کردن رایج ترین کلمات گیج کننده در انگلیسی است.

among / between

It is often taught that “between” is used for 2 items and “among” for 3 or more – but this is not completely accurate. The more accurate difference is this

Between is used when naming distinct, individual items (can be 2, 3, or more)
Among is used when the items are part of a group, or are not specifically named (in this case, they MUST be 3 or more)

:This example will help illustrate the difference

.The negotiations between Brazil, Argentina, and Chile are going well
.The negotiations among the countries of South America are going well

Of course, these sentences are not equivalent (because there are more countries in South America than just Brazil, Argentina, and Chile) but they illustrate the rule – you CAN use between with 3 individual items, and you must use among when talking about a general group (in which no specific countries are named)

:Here’s another example

.I’m trying to decide between the green shirt, the blue shirt, and the black shirt
.I’m trying to decide among these three shirts

These sentences are the same – but in the first sentence, we specifically name each of the three options (the green shirt, the blue shirt, and the black shirt) – so we use the word between. In the second sentence, we treat the items as a group (“these three shirts”) so we use the word among

?”Which is correct: “Between you and I” or “Between you and me

!The correct phrase is “between you and me” – never “between you and I” – this is something that even native speakers confuse

:This expression is used when you want the other person to keep some information a secret, for example

.Between you and me, I think John got fired because he’s completely incompetent

.This means you don’t want the other person to tell anyone else your opinion about John’s lack of intelligence/ability