説明
Use "between" when one thing is connected to separate people or things. It can be two items, or more than two when you still see each item one by one.
In "The teacher divided the snacks between Tom, Yuki, and me," "The teacher" is the subject, "divided" is the verb, and "the snacks" is the thing being shared. "Between Tom, Yuki, and me" shows that the snacks are shared by three separate people. In Japanese, you may say "3人で分けた" or "〜の間で," but English still uses "between" here.
「between」は、1つのものが別々の人や物と関係するときに使います。2つの相手だけでなく、3つ以上でも、1つずつ別のものとして見るなら使えます。
たとえば "The teacher divided the snacks between Tom, Yuki, and me." では、"The teacher" が主語、"divided" が動作、"the snacks" が分けるものです。"between Tom, Yuki, and me" は、おやつがトム、ユキ、私の3人に分けられたことを表します。日本語では「3人で分けた」「〜の間で」と言えますが、英語ではここでも "between" を使います。
例文
- The teacher divided the snacks between Tom, Yuki, and me. 先生はおやつをトム、ユキ、そして私の3人で分けました。
- I can't choose between sushi, ramen, and curry. 私は寿司、ラーメン、カレーのどれにするか決められません。
- Can you decide between the red bike, the blue bike, and the green bike? 赤い自転車、青い自転車、緑の自転車のどれにするか決めてくれますか。
- The money was shared between the three teams. そのお金は3つのチームで分けられました。
- There is no big difference between the three plans. 3つの案に大きな違いはありません。
- The shop is between the station, the school, and the river. その店は駅、学校、川の間にあります。
よくある間違い
Japanese learners often think "between" is only for two things, so they write "I can't choose among sushi, ramen, and curry." But "between" is natural here. Use "between" when you compare separate choices or divide one thing among separate people.
日本語の「2つだけに使う」という感覚で、3つ以上なのに "among" を使ってしまうことがあります。たとえば "I can't choose among sushi, ramen, and curry." です。別々の選択肢を比べるときは、3つ以上でも "between" のほうが自然です。