The simple rule will rarely fail you

MollyB   Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:27 am GMT
"Among versus Between.

The simple rule will rarely fail you: use between for two things, among for more than two."

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/a.html

What does he mean by "rarely"?
Guest   Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:44 am GMT
"Rarely" means "hardly ever".
MollyB   Fri Oct 12, 2007 10:29 am GMT
<"Rarely" means "hardly ever". >

Yes, I know, but on which occasions would that "simple rule" fail one?
Guest   Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:59 am GMT
Example:

New Kingston lies between Halcottsville to the east, Dunraven to the south, Andes to the west, and Bovina to the northwest.
Guest   Fri Oct 12, 2007 2:16 pm GMT
<<New Kingston lies between Halcottsville to the east, Dunraven to the south, Andes to the west, and Bovina to the northwest.>>

"Bewteen" is used for only two things, points.
Travis   Fri Oct 12, 2007 4:26 pm GMT
No, actually, "between" is right here, whereas one would not use "among(st)" in this particular case. "Between" does not mean the same thing as "among(st)"; "among(st)" just refers to being a member of some set without indicating any relationship between the members of that set, whereas "between" actually indicates having less distance in some sort of space or series from the other entities mentioned than that between those entities themselves (which, of course, is an oversimplification, but I won't get into it further).
davidab   Fri Oct 12, 2007 5:19 pm GMT
Among:

00000000
000X0000
00000000

Between

0---X---0
__________

0---X---0000
____________

0000--x---0000
____________

--0
/ \
x---b
davidab   Fri Oct 12, 2007 5:22 pm GMT
hope this works

--0
-/-\
x--b
Guest   Fri Oct 12, 2007 5:34 pm GMT
00000000
000X0000
00000000

That looks like "in the middle of".
davidab   Fri Oct 12, 2007 5:53 pm GMT
"in the middle of" is a more precise indication of position, but if something is in the middle of several things it is also among those things

Is this better for you?

0
00 00 0
0 0 x0 0
00 0 0
Guest   Fri Oct 12, 2007 8:24 pm GMT
<Is this better for you?

0
00 00 0
0 0 x0 0
00 0 0 >

No, this is:



0
00? 00 0?
0 0 ?0 0
0?0 0 0
MollyB   Fri Oct 12, 2007 8:48 pm GMT
I think I've found what the "rarely" may refer to:

Among or between?

"Between is used in connection with two persons or things: 'He divided the money between his two children.' Among is used for more than two: 'He divided the money among his three children.' EXCEPTIONS: If more than two are involved in a united situation, between is used: 'Between the four of us, we raised a thousand dollars.' If a comparison or an opposition is involved, between is used: 'There was great rivalry between the three colleges. It was difficult to choose between them.'" (Parle-Craig, Ruth, and Vincent Hooper. Barron's 1001 Pitfalls in English Grammar 70