Which is the correct term...

[Habx]

I'm writing a story and my grammar is a bit in doubt when it comes to this word. I did search on Google but the doubt still remains.

Is it Among spirits or Amongst spirits?

Please help. I know its silly and I'm not even sure if this is the right forum to be posting this. But I don't believe there is a grammar help forum on gaia for writers. sad

[GhostOrb]

Either is fine. I remember hearing that Americans use "among" whereas other English-speaking countries use "amongst", but I haven't researched that myself.

That said, personally, I think "among spirits" sounds better, from a phonetic standpoint.

[Sir Icehawk]

Both are fine.

As a free tip, you can always google "(word) or (word)" and find answers like this, if they're like this that is. "Among vs (or you could use or) amongst" should give you plenty of hits. I'm sure it's a fairly common query.

[iLyka]

I'd go with amongst. But that's because I'm British.

It's like we say whilst instead of while. "Whilst she was right, it is considered wrong to some."

[Marshmlow1]

I personally like among..But it to me rolls off the tongue better for me. And all I can say is..Think about the whole flow of the sentence, because sometimes amongst can sound better than among, and vice cersa. And now after saying and reading the word so damned much, it doesn't sound or look like a word to me right now lol

But a good example of what I mena by sometimes one sounds better than the other

"I was hiding among the gorillas" To me it doesn't sound right saying, " I was hiding amongst the gorillas"

But for a fantasy story like yours, amongst could be better, because it does help with that more ominous aspect.

[Your Baconess]

I too have had this problem, and when I looked it up it said they both mean the same thing, so which one you use is personal preference

[Kairi Nightingale]

Your Baconess

I too have had this problem, and when I looked it up it said they both mean the same thing, so which one you use is personal preference

What this guy said. ^

They're both the same. Amongst is a little more common with the British (can be considered archaic by Americans, at least where I'm from) so you can decide which one to use depending on your setting or pov character's background.

[FakeSatyre]

personally, I'd go with among, but only because the word you're using it in context with starts with an s. the ending of amongst and the beginning of spirits would kinda blur together as you're saying it, so I think among is better simply for clarity, in this particular situation. that's my take on it, but for the most part I agree with what's already been said; just do what seems right phonetically.

[Reed Meroe]

Editor's answer: Amongst is the older form, which has its origins in the Germanic roots of English. Among is a later deviation, but one that has grown to prominent use in modern English (especially American). Thus, "among" is the more common form used today.

Another tip: if you look up a word in a dictionary, the variations of it will be listed with either the connecter "also" or "or." If it's "or," it means that the variants are used with relatively equal frequency to the main word. "Also" means that the latter words are less commonly used.