between 还是 among，during 还是 while：那些看起来可以互换的词

1你学过的规则只对了一半

这一块流传最广的两条规则其实并不准确，照着做的学习者会写出僵硬、略有错误的英语，同时还以为自己格外严谨。

• "Between is for two, among is for more than two" — not true
• "During and while mean the same thing" — true in meaning, false in grammar
• "Beside and besides are variants" — no, they mean different things
• "Until and by are interchangeable" — they describe opposite kinds of deadline

先看第一条。“The agreement between the four countries”是完全正确的英语，而里面有四方。真正的规则跟数量毫无关系——它关心的是这些事物是否被逐个点名，这正是第二节的内容。

这很重要，因为这些词在学术写作和考试写作里反复出现，而“用得精确”和“用得大概”之间的差距，考官一眼就能看出来——词汇量的广度反倒没有这么显眼。

Tip: 如果你早年学到的某条规则，有个在真实英语里亲眼见过的明显反例，那就相信反例。那条规则多半是为初学者削过的。

2between：彼此分开、逐个点名的事物

between 真正的规则跟数数毫无关系。

• the border between France, Germany and Switzerland — three, all named
• an agreement between the four parties — four, identified
• the difference between the three options — three, distinct
• choose between A, B and C — separate choices
• between 1990 and 2000 — two identified endpoints

上面每个例子里，每一项都单独出现在画面中。你可以逐个用手指过去。这正是 between 的要求，数量并不重要。

between 确实多数时候牵涉两项，原因很简单：大多数比较本来就只有两方。正是这个高频造就了那条入门规则，但它是结果，不是原因。

Tip: 问自己一句：我能把每一项分开指出来吗？能，就用 between，有几项都一样。

3among：一个未被拆分的整体

among 用在个体消失于一片人群或一堆事物之中的时候。

• She was among the crowd. — an undifferentiated mass
• popular among teenagers — a group, not named individuals
• among the trees — you are not counting them
• among other things — an unspecified set
• distributed among the staff — the staff as a body

对比一下：“He divided the money between his three children”（每个孩子都被点名、被分别看待）与“He distributed the money among the staff”（一个集体，个体不在焦点里）。两句都对，画出的却是两幅不同的画面。

注意 among 后面很少跟一串罗列。“Among Anna, Tom and Maya”听起来别扭，恰恰是因为罗列把他们变成了一个个个体，而那是 between 的地盘。这本身就是个好用的检验。

Tip: 后面跟着一串名字，就用 between；后面跟着一团复数，就用 among。真实场景基本都被这一句盖住了。

4during 与 while：真正的差别

这两个词意思相同却不能互换，因为差别在语法，不在语义。

• during the film — noun
• while the film was on — subject and verb
• during my stay in Berlin — noun phrase
• while I was staying in Berlin — clause
• during I was in Berlin — WRONG, during cannot take a clause
• while the meeting — WRONG, while needs a verb

所以决定用哪个的，是你打算往后面放什么，而不是你想表达什么。手上是名词，就得用 during；是完整的从句，就得用 while。两种说法的意思完全一样。

meanwhile 是第三种形式，而且是副词：它独立成分，通常放在句首。“Meanwhile, the guests were waiting.”它连接两个情境，而不是引出其中任何一个。

Tip: 往右看，别往左看。后面跟的是什么就决定用哪个词：名词 → during，从句 → while。

5for、since 与 during 的比较

三个词都挂在时间上，各自回答的却是不同的问题。

• for + duration → how long? — for two hours
• since + starting point → since when? — since Monday
• during + noun (a period) → when? — during the meeting
• while + clause → when? — while we were meeting
• in + period → when? — in July

during 回答的是“什么时候”，不是“多久”。“I slept during the film”告诉你睡觉发生在哪一段时间之内；它并没有说你睡了整场电影。要表达那个意思得用 for：“I slept for two hours.”

• I was there during the summer. — at some point within it
• I was there for the summer. — the whole season
• I've been here since June. — starting point, still here
• It rained during the night. — at some point in the night
• It rained for three hours. — duration

头两行里 during 与 for 的对立，才是真正值得内化的那一条。学习者常常在该用 for 的地方用了 during，结果把持续的时间说短了。

Tip: 如果前面能塞进一个数字，那你要的是 for。during 只接有名字的时段。

6until、by 与 before

三个表示期限的词，描述的其实是截然不同的情形。

• I'll be here until six. — I stay the whole time
• I'll be here by six. — I arrive at some point before six
• Finish it by Friday. — deadline
• Wait until Friday. — keep waiting
• I'll wait by six. — WRONG; waiting is continuous, use until

not until 是个好用的结构，意思是“要到那时才”：“The shop doesn't open until nine.”学习者常说“opens only at nine”，语法没错，但地道程度差远了。

Tip: 连续的动作 → until。单次完成的事件 → by。就这一个区分，整组词都理顺了。

7beside 与 besides

差一个字母，意思却毫不相干——一个小陷阱，答案却很干净。

• Sit beside me. — position
• Besides me, three people came. — in addition to me
• Beside me, three people came. — they came and sat next to me
• It's too expensive. Besides, I don't need it. — additional reason
• Besides the price, it's a good car. — apart from

注意第二个和第三个例子仅差一个字母，描述的却是完全不同的场景。这是真正的意思差别，不是拼写变体。

beside 还出现在两个固定说法里：beside the point（跑题、不相干）和 beside yourself（情绪激动到失态）。两个都不加 -s。

Tip: 带 s 的 besides 是在“添”东西，不带 s 的 beside 是在“摆”东西。多出来的那个字母，就代表多出来的信息。

8among、amongst、while 与 whilst

这几个词各有一个更长的变体，而“该用哪个”这个问题答案很简单。

amongst 和 whilst 属于英式、偏旧，即便在英国也越来越少见。它们的意思跟 among、while 完全一样，用法和语体上毫无差别，只是听起来略显正式或有点年代感。

就用 among 和 while。它们在任何地方、任何语体、任何一种英语里都正确。amongst 和 whilst 从来都不是必需的，在美式英语里还可能显得做作。

• amid / amidst — like among but for situations rather than objects: amid the confusion
• toward / towards — American prefers toward, British towards; both fine
• among / amongst — prefer among
• while / whilst — prefer while

amid 值得单独说一句，因为它并不只是另一个变体。它用于抽象或不可数的情形——amid the chaos、amid growing concern——这些地方换成 among 就不对味了。新闻写作里很常见。

Tip: 拿不准的话，短的那个永远安全。不存在哪种语境是 whilst 对而 while 不对的。

9between you and me

一个值得说对的具体短语，因为它的错误版本极其常见，而且相当显眼。

• between you and me — correct
• between you and I — incorrect, though very common
• between him and me — correct
• between he and I — incorrect
• for you and me — same rule, same reason

这个错误来自矫枉过正。小时候大人教孩子别说“me and John went”，有些人便把这条修正推广到所有位置，包括介词之后——而那里恰恰该用 me。

可靠的检验方法是把另一个人拿掉。你绝不会说“between I”——所以“between you and I”错在同一个道理上。这个检验对同类的代词错误一概适用。

正因为“between you and I”听上去更讲究，受过教育的母语者说话时也常常这么用。但在考试里和经过编辑的文字里，它照样被判为错。

Tip: 把另一个人去掉再检查一遍。句子单独说出来就不对，那么两个人一起说时代词同样不对。

10这些词在考试写作中出现在哪里

这些词在雅思和 CELPIP 写作里的用处高得不成比例，所以在这里下功夫求精确，比大多数背单词的投入回报更高。

雅思写作 Task 1 建立在比较之上，所以 between 不断出现：“the difference between 1990 and 2000”“between the two categories”。把 between 和 among 用对，直接对应这项任务的要求；而把 between 正确地用在三个甚至更多被点名的对象上，展示的是真正的掌控力。

Task 2 的议论文里，while 更多是作转折连词，而不是时间词：“While some argue that…, others believe…”这是学术英语中最好用的句子开头之一，值得练到脱口而出。

• while — contrast: While some people believe X, others…
• whereas — stronger contrast, formal, very common in Task 1
• among — for group tendencies: popular among younger respondents
• between — for comparisons: the gap between the two figures
• during — for periods: during the first decade

whereas 在 Task 1 里尤其值得注意。“Sales rose steadily, whereas profits fell”正是这项任务乐意给分的句型，而在直接对比两组数据时，whereas 比 but 更精确。

注意 while 身兼时间和转折两职是很正常的，实际使用中并不会造成歧义：“While I was reading”显然是时间，“While I agree with you”显然是转折。

Tip: 作转折标记的 whereas 和 while，是整篇文章里对考试写作最划算的两个结构。两个都不难，而且两个都会被注意到。

11三十个句子，逐句改正

把右边一栏挡住，先自己改，再看答案。其中有几句本来就是对的——目的是精确，不是疑神疑鬼。

• During I was working, the phone rang → While I was working, the phone rang
• While the meeting, we discussed it → During the meeting, we discussed it
• I slept during two hours → I slept for two hours
• Among the two options, I prefer this one → Between the two options, I prefer this one
• The agreement between the four countries → correct as written
• She was between the crowd → She was among the crowd
• It's popular between teenagers → It's popular among teenagers
• Between you and I, it's a bad idea → Between you and me, it's a bad idea
• He sat besides me → He sat beside me
• Beside the price, it's a good car → Besides the price, it's a good car
• I'll wait by six → I'll wait until six
• I'll finish it until Friday → I'll finish it by Friday
• The shop doesn't open till nine → correct as written
• I've been here during June → I've been here since June
• I was there for the whole summer → correct as written
• During my stay in Berlin, I visited the museum → correct as written
• While of the film, I fell asleep → During the film, I fell asleep
• He divided the money among his three children → He divided the money between his three children
• The money was distributed among the staff → correct as written
• Among other things, we discussed the budget → correct as written
• For him and I, it was difficult → For him and me, it was difficult
• Meanwhile the guests waited → Meanwhile, the guests waited
• Whilst I agree, I have concerns → While I agree, I have concerns
• Sales rose, whereas profits fell → correct as written
• It rained during three hours → It rained for three hours
• I'll be in the office until three, so come at two → correct as written
• Amid the confusion, nobody noticed → correct as written
• The difference between the three options is small → correct as written
• Besides, I don't have time → correct as written
• That's beside the point → correct as written

Tip: 这些句子里有十一句是对的——超过三分之一。如果你改动了很多句，那说明你在反复怀疑自己而不是在读句子，而考场上的时间压力做的正是这件事。

12在真实输入中留意功能词

这类词是最难靠听力学会的，而背后的原因值得弄明白。

功能词不带重音。在自然口语里，between、among、during、until 会被压缩到几乎听不见——你听到的是两边的实义词，中间那块是大脑自己补上的。这意味着你可以听几百个小时的英语，却几乎学不到这些东西，因为你从来没有真正听见过它们。

阅读则不同。在纸面上，每个词得到的注意力是均等的，功能词完完整整地摆在那里。这是极少数几个阅读在习得上真正胜过听力的领域，也正因如此，读得多的学习者处理这些词明显更稳。

• 专攻这一块时，用读的，别用听的
• 新闻报道最理想——amid、whereas、among 在那里用得既准确又频繁
• 每遇到一个，就看看它后面跟的是什么：名词、从句，还是一串罗列
• 把整个短语连同后面那部分一起存下来，因为决定用哪个词的正是它
• 用作转折的 while 写三个句子，不要写成时间的 while

这条“多读”的建议确实只针对这个主题。论发音、短语动词和搭配，听力轻松取胜。但论功能词，纸面才是它们真正露面的地方。

Tip: FlexiLingo 会给 YouTube 和播客配上可点击的字幕，并把文章变成学习材料：点任意一个词就能看到词义和 CEFR 等级，并连同所在句子一起保存——对这些词来说，这意味着把它后面跟的东西也一并留住，因为整个判断就在那里。