Most words go through life without much excitement, doing their job and never attracting much attention. Others, such as dilapidatedstir up a bit of noise (at one point, some people thought that referring to a wooden house was dilapidated incorrect, since the word comes from the Latin word for rock, lapis lazuli). Some words, such as alikejust provocateurs. Between is one of those unruly few.
“Make a careful distinction between these words.”
Fowler’s first edition Dictionary using modern English (1926) listed five areas of concern for the word, and a second edition (1965) added a sixth. Among these is the use of the word as an over-correction, in the dreaded phrase “between you and me,” and when used in certain circumstances before the word each. Today, however, the only form of between attention-seeking behavior that we will consider when it is used in place of between.
As is the case with many English usage problems, it’s very likely that some readers are now eye-catching at the thought of this app, while others respond with “I really don’t understand what the problem is. What…”. If you are a member of this second group then the problem is:
Between can be applied to any number; between for two people only.— Frank Vizetelly, A Desk-book of Errors in English1920
It is perhaps incorrect to take Vizetelly’s advice above as a rule of thumb, but since “strong recommendation based on ignorance of lexical history and contempt for nuance” is too long to write each time, it Let’s call it a rule. So why do we have it?
Although he may not have been the first to say so, Samuel Johnson in 1755 added a usage note, oddly formatted as the definition of a sixth sense. betweenthat read”Between properly used of two, and between more and more; but perhaps this accuracy is not always preserved.” Footnote by grammarian Goold Brown in 1851 Grammar of English grammar ironically note that one of his contemporaries made the mistake of using the word, as it “cannot refer to more than two things or two sides”.
However, between these two books (1828) we find that Noah Webster defined between is “Belonging to two or more…. We observe that between not limited to two.” what must you do? Well, we can’t tell you what you should do, but we can tell you something about the history of this word usage.
There is substantial evidence of between used to refer to more than two things. In fact, it is more than substantial evidence; the use is condemned between existed for 800 years before Johnson recorded it. The Oxford English Dictionary there is evidence of between used this way since 971 and gives a brief but powerful explanation of why this usage between is legal.
In every sense, the middle, from its earliest appearance, has been extended to more than two…. It is still the only word available to express the relationship of one thing to many surrounding things individually and individually, among the collective and ambiguous expression of the relationship with them. —
Oxford English Dictionary (oed.com), “between” (meaning 19)
Our own citation files have many examples of between is applied to settings of more than two, usually by famous writers and is often used in such a way that between sounds stressful.
This is, of course, between our three private individuals.— Jane Austen, letter, October 11, 1813
There is definitely something in common between the three (Dante. Chaucer, Villon)— TS Eliot, “Dante” in Selected essays1932
Constantine a little before his death, to the confusion of the spiritists, also named Dalmatius to his brothers as sons of Caesar; but also by his own companions, he was oppressed, and so the Empire was divided among the three brothers.— Alexander Ross, World history1652
None of this should be taken as a suggestion that between And between interchangeable. The two words have some degree of overlap, but also significant differences. In addition, none of the above means that you may not have preferences in this regard and that you should feel completely comfortable following your own self-imposed guidelines regarding when to use between and when to use between.
However, it should be seen as a refutation of the rule of over-generalization that Frank Vizetelly espoused earlier in this paper. It is not difficult to come across cases between sounds wrong regardless of the number (when was the last time you heard someone describe it as “between the devil and the deep blue sea”?). And for the question of whether between can be used for numbers greater than two, we just have to look elsewhere in Vizetelly’s book to see that sometimes this works quite well.
bring, bring, take: Distinguish carefully between these words.— Frank Vizetelly, A Desk-book of Errors in English1920
Indeed, make a careful distinction between these words.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
