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One of our readers, Tania Botha asked:
“When (if ever) must one use “amongst” – I systematically use “among” in my own writing and change it when editing other people’s texts, because “amongst” seems so old-fashioned. Is there a rule?”
You can use among and amongst interchangeably, but as Tania pointed out, among is more common in modern writing.
From Dr Grammar’s FAQs “Both are correct and mean the same, but among is more common.”
Some people try to distinguish between the two, but this really is a case when either word is valid. I’d recommend choosing whichever fits your piece of writing best: if you’re writing a fantasy story, or a piece of historical fiction, you might want:
- “As Tarquin stood amongst the great trees of the dark forest…”
But if you’re writing a news or feature article, you’ll probably go for:
- “If you’re among one of the biggest groups in society…”
- “Living among the Bush people taught me a lot…”
So yes, amongst does seem old-fashioned – but it’s still grammatically correct as an alternative to among. It’s up to you to select which you prefer!
Editor’s note: We had already touched on this issue in the past with the article Among/Amongst: Is there a Difference?.
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Gosh, I have to say I wouldn’t systematically change something just because it sounded old fashioned. But I’m in England, and I think you can get away with it more.
Though of course I would alter a single ‘among’ amongst ‘amongsts’ (or vice versa for the sake of consistency.
In all the publications I’ve worked for, ‘among’ has been in the style guide because it’s shorter and therefore takes up less space.
For my part, I think it’s useful to have a choice for the sake of prose rhythm.
Whilst the old-fashioned way/modern way makes much more sense to me nowadays, reading various people’s writings gave me the thinking that “-st” belonged to British English (”old-fashioned”), whereas omitting was American English (and other variants of English, I suppose) because the omission of the “-st” was more common in American English (”modern”).
Although this tip has made me rethink how I’ll be writing fiction and news articles!
Use whatever you want . What’s the big deal when both are grammatically correct .
Clare – great point about consistency. I agree that I would alter one instance of “among” or “amongst” in a piece where the other word predominated.
Jennifer – glad the tip helped!
For me, using language well doesn’t mean just getting things correct … it’s about having the best word for your purpose.
You just don’t know how much you are helping me.
I have been improving my English since you came into my blogging life.
By the way, thanks for introducing Dr. Grammar to me.
I was not wrong when I made a post about you, guys.
Anyway, I hope you could make a post about the right usage of advise and advice.
I am quite confused.
Thank you so much.
Thx Ali!
Clare – I see your point about prose rhythm and agree that “amongst” would work well in specific types of text. Maybe I should have added that I work mostly with business texts, which probably explains my predeliction for “among”
I remember learning there is a difference between among and amongst.
Instead of explaining, I will give an example.
Let’s discuss the issues among the departments.
Let’s discuss the issues amongst the departments.
The first sentence using among means there are issues between departments.
The second sentence using amongst means we want to talk to the departments about the issues.
Does anyone else remember being taught this in school?
guardian angel,
the difference between advice and advise is:
advice is a noun. it is a thing (suggestion, wisdom, etc.) offered/given that can be offered and accepted.
advise is a verb. it is the act of giving advice.
hope that helps almost a year later! haha
oops…there was a typo in my last comment. offered/given was an extra bit that should have been deleted!
it should have read:
advice is a noun. it is a thing (suggestion, bit of wisdom, etc.) that can be given and received/accepted.
etc…
I realize the thread is a bit dated, but as far as I can tell there is a slight difference between the “-st” and their denuded counterparts in British and Australian English. These commonwealth countries tend to use whilst, amongst, etc. when the word that follows starts with a vowel or other soft sound. This makes the two words roll off the tongue more easily than the non -st words: consider amongst youths vs. among youths. If my hunch is correct, it would be grammatically similar (and perhaps descend from) the French “liaison” between two words. One pertinent example is the insertion of “-t-” in some cases between two words that end in vowels, for example “a-t-il” instead of “a il.” Another would be the pronunciation of the last letter when ordinarily silent: in “deux hommes” the normally silent “x” is pronounced as “z”.