among vs amongst ap style

Randi Spence Maret 10, 2022 among , ap , style Comment

Amongst is a variant of among. Amongst has the exact same meaning and grammatical rules as among.

Among Vs Amongst How To Use Amongst Vs Among In English Confused Words

The only difference is that this spelling is less common in both American and British English.

. Although both are having the same meaning the frequency of its use is not the same. When to use amongst. So when should you use amongst vs.

Among is more common in American English while amongst used almost exclusively in British English. Amongst is sometimes used as an alternative to among. In a sense the terms among and amongst are associated with the concept of other where the sentence is describing a mass noun whether or not the narrator is apart of the sentences nouns or not.

When it comes to among vs. Amongst may feel more archaic to speakers of American English but among is actually the older word dating back to Old English circa 1000 CE. And conversely at times among seems appropriate for example He was among many that died in the war.

Among and amongst are two varieties of the same preposition. Among is used as a part and parcel of American English style whereas the preposition Amongst is used as Britains English style of language. John M on March 03 2010 136 am.

But among is most common particularly in American English. Amongst is used as a singular noun phrase and has the same meaning as among whereas the term among is used as plural noun phrase preposition. Among and amongst mean surrounded by included in jointly and between Among is far more common than amongst.

Among are both prepositions meaning in the company of or surrounded by. What is the Difference Between Among and Between. They mean in the midst of surrounded by in the company of or in association with.

Her arrival caused a stir among the people. Among is meant for in the middle or included in a larger group of the people or things. It is more formal and less common.

So even though amongst sounds like it would be the older of these two words it is actually quite a bit younger than its older brother among. There is no real difference between among and amongst. Among and amongst are prepositions meaning they express a relationship between the elements of a clause.

Amongst is generally used in active rather than passive sentences in which you would use among Wilson on February 07 2010 144 pm. Among is used more in American English than in British English. In American English amongst is often considered archaic and pretentious so if your audience is mostly based in the US it might be better to stick with among.

While amongst is fairly commonthough still rare compared to amongin British Australian and Canadian English it is rare in American English and may even have an archaic ring. According to the grammatist amongst is rare in AmE. Americans tend to always use among while in the UK both among and amongst are used.

There are times when amongst just seems to feel more appropriate for example I sat amongst the trees and stared at the stars. AP Style uses the traditional maxim to determine which of these two words to use and when to use them. Among is more common in American English while amongst appears more often in British English.

Therefore in most contexts among is the better choice. Amongst is more common in British English whereas among is more common in American English. Americans prefer to use among.

Among is commonly followed by a plural noun phrase. There is no difference between them. There is no absolute rule when it comes to among vs.

Whenever I write the word among I always double take and think should I be using amongst. Among is over ten times more common than amongst. Among is more common in modern writing.

For example Steve Joe and I were among the first three students to enroll in the class. Also among is commonly followed by some plural noun form. Using Amongst in a Sentence.

Among and amongst are prepositions that mean the same. A few theories claim that among is more commonly used in American English while British English tends to prefer amongst as a tradition from a past period of the English vocabulary evolution when the suffixes -s and -st were added to several words mostly to obtain new adverbs such as whilst from while. While amongst is slightly more common in British English than American English among is the preferred word.

Among amongst the two words has no difference any one that comes first but i prefere to use amongst it sounds sweateable. Among and amongst can mean surrounded by. Among introduces more than two items being discussed.

Amongst among is actually the older word. Amongst in comparison showed up in the language in Middle English circa 1200 CE. Among is the more common variant in American and.

Im guessing I wasnt alone to assume the opposite Its been used as far back as the time of Old Englishbefore the 12th centurycoming from a combination of on and gemonge a word pairing which together meant in a crowd. To be among or amongst other nouns is to be the middle to be one of several or to be apart of a particular population. What is the difference between Among and Amongst.

Only use between when youre referring to two things just between us between a rock and a hard place you must choose between cake or death and use among when referring to more than two youre among friends among the many options available to you. If youre at all interested in grammar then youve probably heard the maxim about among and between. Difference Between Among and Amongst.

They can be used interchangeably so choosing one over the other depends on writing style.

Among Vs Amongst What S The Difference Writing Explained