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 Dervish Overdrive |
Somewhere (in) Between |
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Showing (a little devotion)
Posts: 961 (July 12, 2009 07:23:26) Running (Up That Hill) |
This has been bugging me for a while...Is Somewhere in Between actually correct? Wouldn't simply 'somewhere between' be the better choice?
Not trying to be pedantic here at all but English is my second language and I just don't know.
Tried to find an answer online but I just found opposing opinions.
Frankly, sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion! |
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Japonolirion |
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Running (Up That Hill)
Posts: 224 (July 12, 2009 07:56:25) Moving |
Hmmm, I think both are correct.
I'd use 'somewhere in between' in a sentence like this: 'It's not good or bad, just somewhere in between' -- when two quite different things are being compared. I'd say 'somewhere between' in a sentence like this: 'Manchester is somewhere between London and Edinburgh' -- when referring specifically to a point in space. |
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johnmorango2 |
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Cloudbusting!
Posts: 4134 (July 12, 2009 10:33:34) Running (Up That Hill) |
I agree that both are correct. I'd use somewhere between when the options are definite as in between places or numbers. Somewhere in between is an
expression that is used to talk about a position or attitude being between extremes. But you could use either reasonably comfortably. The english language is
full of seeming inconsistencies like that. Like the old 'to get someone's goat/to get on someone's goat' thing. Funnily enough I know the whys
and wherefors of that one.
John
The Dreaming is Kate's 'Marmite' album. |
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 Mondo Sinistro |
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Cloudbusting!
Posts: 5068 (July 12, 2009 11:16:56) Cloudbusting! |
Actually, I think this should be in Other Topics, but that's another question.
I've been finding this an irritant for some time, but of course, as your post in fact suggests, whenever you call someone on this you're likely to be considered hopelessly pedantic. I don't know that any of these uses of "in between" are actually incorrect, but they just seem totally redundant. Indeed, why not just say "between"? I could say the same thing about "underneath," except that "underneath" actually makes sense if there's no object. "I found it underneath the bed" seems silly when you can just as well say "I found it under the bed." Most such uses seem to show up in conversation, not writing, so maybe it is a time-buying thing-throwing in an extra syllable here and there, to give yourself a little extra time to think of what to say next. How about "tiny little," or "big huge"? |
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johnmorango2 |
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Cloudbusting!
Posts: 4135 (July 12, 2009 12:45:39) Running (Up That Hill) |
I personally like the idiosyncracies, in the same way I dislike text speak. Proper usage and nuance might take longer but I don't see that as a problem if
it's in context.
John
The Dreaming is Kate's 'Marmite' album. |
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johnmorango2 |
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Cloudbusting!
Posts: 4136 (July 12, 2009 12:49:24) Running (Up That Hill) |
Also Somewhere In Between stands alone whereas Somewhere Between needs the choices stated.
John
The Dreaming is Kate's 'Marmite' album. |
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Mondo Sinistro |
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Cloudbusting!
Posts: 5070 (July 12, 2009 13:38:08) Cloudbusting! |
I think you have the right idea, John, but let me try to put it another way. "Somewhere in between" is good to use as an adjectival phrase, one that
lacks an object. But if you're saying this about two specific objects, then you should say "somewhere between." I'd say a similar thing about
"underneath." "Underneath the bed" is verbose and redundant-best to just say "under the bed." (BTW if there are more than two
objects, between implies just two; you should instead use something like "among" (or "amongst," if you just have to be British about it).
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Stev042 |
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Running (Up That Hill)
Posts: 560 (July 12, 2009 13:49:34) |
The "It depends on the context" folks are correct. So let's look at the context:
Somewhere in between etc. It's not quite a waxing wave, and not quite a waning wave. It doesn't mean literally between a wave that is waxing and a wave that is waning (as in "German is between France and Poland"). It's, well, somewhere in between. Same with "the song" and "silence", etc.
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself. And the Chupacabra! Madre de dios he'll kill us all!" -Max
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