Choose between/from

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi,

I’d like to know whether there is a difference between “choose between” and “choose from”.
Take the two sentences for example:

  1. Choose a number from 1 and 10.
  2. Choose a number between 1 and 10.

My comprehension:
(1). Either 1 or 10 can be chosen.
(2). Any number between 1 and 10 can be chosen. (1, 2, 3, 3.5, 4, … 10)

Is it correct?
Thanks!

Justin

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2

Hi Justin,

Sentence (1) isn’t really clear. I think you need to say: Choose either (number) 1 or (number) 10. Sentence (2) is perfectly clear.

Alan

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3

Thanks, Alan.

Is it also correct to use “choose between” instead of “choose from” like this one?

  • Choose between an apple and an orange.

(I’m thinking whether it suggests that I may choose something other than apple and orange.)

Justin

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4

Hi,

If there are only two objects, I would simply say: Choose either a or b/between a or b. The use of ‘from’ in this context would really need a larger number/quantity:

Choose one from these six cheeses.

Alan

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5

Hi,
Not being asked for, still “Choose between an apple and an orange.” seems OK to me if you look at the example of
‘choose between’: “She is forced to choose between her husband and her parents.” macmillandictionary.com/dict … ish/choose

–Why not apply this to “…between his work and study/his duty and his conscience” etc as well?

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6

Hi Eugene,

Point taken. I just thought that something as mundane as an apple or an orange didn’t warrant this construction whereas in your examples it makes better sense. But I don’t want to make a thing about it as different interpretations can sometimes lead to Celtic ire, if you know what I mean!

Alan

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7

Hi Alan,
‘Ire’ sounds familiar (also avoidable) stuff. Does Celtic ire imply some extra quality?

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8

Maybe I’m way off base here, but (at the risk of being caught in the cross fire) I think Alan zinged Bev with his “Celtic Ire” remark (seeing as Bev hails from Wales).

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9

If so… I may punch above my weight, but I don’t relish (and hope, nobody on the Forum does) the kind of communication that took place not long ago.
One of the reasons I’ve been here is the atmosphere of tolerance and consideration. Should we blow it? For the sake of what?..

“You need self-acceptance or you can’t live with yourself; you need self-criticism or others can’t live with you.”

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10

Sentence (1) would have been clear and all right, if it had been “Choose a number from 1 to 10”. What do you say, Alan?

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11

I agree.

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12

Nice try, no cigar.

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13

Hi. Beees.
Your usage of NO CIGAR if I may ask, what does it mean?

Son Ebenezer.

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14

I’d be interested to know, too as it has been delivered to me more than once.

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15

The phrase, and its variant ‘nice try, but no cigar’, are of US origin and date from the mid-20th century. Fairground stalls gave out cigars as prizes, and this is the most likely source, although there’s no definitive evidence to prove that.

It is first recorded in print in Sayre and Twist’s publishing of the script of the 1935 film version of Annie Oakley:

“Close, Colonel, but no cigar!”

It appears in U. S. newspapers widely from around 1949 onwards. For example, a story from The Lima News, Lima, Ohio, November 1949, where The Lima House Cigar and Sporting Goods Store narrowly avoided being burned down in a fire, was titled ‘Close But No Cigar’.

Courtesy of Yahoo.

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16

Thanks, Beees.

Then NO CIGAR could carry the meaning as (nothing bad involved/present).

Thank you.

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17

‘No cigar’ indicates that although someone tried to goad me I did not rise to the level of being goaded.

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18

I think this expression is explained best in this video (a picture is worth a thousand words):

youtube.com/watch?v=PtMU8nvZzOs

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19

OTS you should know better. Minors might watch this. Not XXX but 16+ surely? :wink:

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