Use among when someone or something is part of, surrounded by, or spread through a group. Use between for distinct points, choices, or relationships. Both prepositions can be used with more than two things.
Look at how the items relate
- Among. I found the red pencil among the loose pens. The pens form a group around it.
- Between two things. The pencil rolled between the two notebooks. The notebooks mark the edges of the gap.
- Between more than two things. We chose between the library, the park, and the community center. The locations are three distinct options.
Choose the view of the group
The budget was divided among the clubs treats the clubs as a group. We split the work between Maya, Devon, and Lee presents the people as distinct participants. See among vs. amongst for a comparison of the two forms.
