Learn how to use the prepositions "between" and "among"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Finding a Long-Lost Diary in the United States. John Here. |
| Becky: Hey I'm Becky. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn about the prepositions “between” and “among”. The conversation takes place at work. |
| Becky: It's between Rachel and Sean. |
| John: The speakers are co-workers, and they will use both formal and informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Rachel: Oh! That's my diary, I've been looking for it everywhere. Where did you find it? |
| Sean: It was hidden among the files for the meeting later. |
| Rachel: I must have left it there earlier. |
| Sean: Do you want me to put it on your desk? |
| Rachel: Yes, please! Can you put it between those two books? |
| Sean: Sure! |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Rachel: Oh! That's my diary, I've been looking for it everywhere. Where did you find it? |
| Sean: It was hidden among the files for the meeting later. |
| Rachel: I must have left it there earlier. |
| Sean: Do you want me to put it on your desk? |
| Rachel: Yes, please! Can you put it between those two books? |
| Sean: Sure! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Rachel was lucky to find her lost diary. |
| Becky: Yeah, she was lucky that she lost it at work. |
| John: What would happen if you lost something somewhere else? |
| Becky: I’d suggest retracing your steps and seeing if you could find it. Also, contact the authorities. |
| John: So if you’ve been on the train, contact the train company. |
| Becky: That’s right. You can advertise your lost item if it’s something of value. |
| John: I see posters for lost pets a lot. |
| Becky: Yeah, it’s common to advertise a lost pet. If you do advertise, you can offer a reward and that sometimes helps you get your item back. |
| John: What should you do if you find something? |
| Becky: Hand it in somewhere. Many public places have a Lost and Found office, or you can give it to the police. |
| John: Is it likely that you’ll get something back if you lose it? |
| Becky: I wouldn’t count on it. I would advise not losing things in the first place! |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Becky: diary [natural native speed] |
| John: a book where someone writes their memories and information on their day |
| Becky: diary[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: diary [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: everywhere [natural native speed] |
| John: all places |
| Becky: everywhere[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: everywhere [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: to hide [natural native speed] |
| John: to stay out of sight |
| Becky: to hide[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to hide [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: files [natural native speed] |
| John: a folder that keeps loose documents together |
| Becky: files[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: files [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: meeting [natural native speed] |
| John: a gathering of people, usually in order to discuss something |
| Becky: meeting[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: meeting [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: later [natural native speed] |
| John: at a time after another |
| Becky: later[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: later [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: to leave [natural native speed] |
| John: to depart, to go away from |
| Becky: to leave[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: to leave [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: desk [natural native speed] |
| John: a table used for work |
| Becky: desk[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: desk [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Becky: book [natural native speed] |
| John: a written text that often tells a story or gives information |
| Becky: book[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: book [natural native speed] |
| John: And last... |
| Becky: sure [natural native speed] |
| John: having no doubt about something |
| Becky: sure[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Becky: sure [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Becky: ...everywhere... |
| John: meaning "all places." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Becky: Look at it as two separate words - “every,” meaning “all,” and “where” meaning place. |
| John: So, “all places.” |
| Becky: Yep. For example, if something is on sale and you can buy it “everywhere,” that means it’s on sale across the country. |
| John: And probably in several different stores too. |
| Becky: “Everywhere” can also be used to exaggerate. So, you might hear someone saying something is happening “everywhere” when they really mean that it’s happening in many places. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “I looked everywhere for my lost bag.” |
| John: Which means "I looked in all places for my lost bag." |
| John: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: Later... |
| John: ...meaning "at a time after another." What can you tell us about this? |
| Becky: You use this to describe a time period after another. |
| John: So if we say “See you later”... |
| Becky: ...it means “I will see you again at a time after this.” |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “I will call you later.” |
| John: Which means "I will call you at a time after this." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Becky: Sure... |
| John: ...meaning "having no doubt." When do you use this word? |
| Becky: You can use this to say that you are certain of something. |
| John: You often hear it in a question like “Are you sure?” |
| Becky: Yes, you can say that phrase to double check that someone is certain. |
| John: It can also be used as an exclamation, right? |
| Becky: If we say “Sure!”, it means something similar to “yes.” You’re agreeing to something. |
| John: Can you give us another example using this word? |
| Becky: Sure. For example, you can say, “I'm sure that he was here.” |
| John: ...which means "I’m certain that he was here." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn about the prepositions “between” and “among.” |
| John: Let’s start with the preposition “between.” |
| Becky: “Between” can be used in many ways, but all of them are related to the space in the middle of two things. |
| John: Okay. Let’s look in more detail about how it can be used. |
| Becky: It can be used for physical space in the middle of two objects. |
| John: Like “Put the lamp between the table and the wall.” |
| Becky: The time, in the middle of two dates. |
| John: “The beach is always busy between June to September.” |
| Becky: The interval in the middle of two points on a scale. |
| John: “Between 30% to 50% of applicants fail the exam.” |
| Becky: To choose or show differences. |
| John: “I can’t choose between Canada, Mexico, and Hawaii for my summer vacation.” |
| Becky: “Between” refers to the interval, so “between June to September,” means June, July, August and September. |
| John: Not just June and September. |
| Becky: There is a famous idiom using “between” - “between a rock and a hard place.” |
| John: That means to choose between two difficult situations. Such as “The exam and the job interview are scheduled for the same time so I can’t do both. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.” |
| Becky: That’s right! What is the next preposition for this lesson? |
| John: The next, and last, is “among.” |
| Becky: This has several meanings too. It can mean to be surrounded by many things. |
| John: “The dog ran among the flowers.” |
| Becky: To belong to a group or a relationship. |
| John: “The candy was shared evenly among the children.” |
| Becky: Or, a choice or decision between three or more unspecified things. |
| John: “He was the best choice among the candidates.” |
| Becky: In every situation, “among” means that there are several things and gives an image of groups. |
| John: Thank you! |
| Becky: Listeners, make sure to check the Lesson Notes PDF to find more examples and additional information. |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Becky: Bye |
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