Caught Between 'Among' and a Hard-Fought Place

Rob Kyff on Jun 5, 2024

Q: I often see this misuse in the newspaper: "between three people." Shouldn't it be "between two people" and "among three people"? -- Mary Ellen Palmer, Frankfort, Michigan

A: Generally, yes. "Between" should be used before two items, e.g., "The money was divided equally between Tom and Sally," and "among" should be used before three items, e.g., "The money was divided equally among Tom, Sally and Joe." The most common error is the one you cite: using "between" instead of "among" for three or more items.

But, between you and me, there's a major exception to the between/among rule: When three or more items are considered one pair at a time, "between" is correct.

Let's say, for instance, that Tom, Sally and Joe talk to each other, but each pair has a separate conversation. That is, Tom talks to Sally, Sally talks to Joe, and Joe talks to Tom. Then you'd say, "There were discussions between Tom, Sally and Joe" or "between three people."

Similarly, if a fourth person, Jill, talked one-on-one with Tom, Sally and Joe, you'd say, "There were discussions between Jill and Tom, Sally and Joe."

Q: Recently, in a couple of newspaper articles I have seen the plural of octopus written as "octopuses." Shouldn't the plural be "octopi," as in cactus/cacti? -- Beulah Dillon via email

A: I welcome your question with (eight) open arms! The correct plural of "octopus" is, indeed, "octopuses." That's because "octopus," despite its "us" ending, is not of Latin origin but comes from the Greek "octopous." "Cactus" is of Latin origin, so its plural is "cacti."

Q: I just ran across this sentence about fossil fuel companies and climate change in The Nation: "It's clear that having these companies take financial responsibility will be a hard-fought battle." Because "hard-fought" is a past participle, can it be used to describe a future possibility? -- Chris Ryan, New York City

A: The use of the past participle "fought" to describe a coming battle rudely whiplashes the reader, like a hapless puppet on a wire, from the future to the past. I'm reminded of my pessimistic writer friend who says he's writing a "long-forgotten novel."

Yet, because "hard-fought battle" has become such a stock term, its incongruity with a reference to the future nearly escapes our notice. We'd certainly squirm at similar tense shifts, e.g., "We're assembling a much-criticized report or "I'm preparing a well-taught class," but the use of "hard-fought" for future events is hardly fought.

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Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. His book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to WordGuy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.