Prepositions

It would be correct to say of or between if there are two people to be chosen, but between would be the most common. It would not be correct to say among unless it was a larger group of people. For example, “Whom would you prefer among the group of us?” And while using to is grammatically correct, saying, “Whom would you prefer to the two of us?” basically means “Whom do you prefer instead of the two of us?”

I hope this helps!

Best,

Amy

It is grammatically correct, yes. It changes the meaning of the sentence from what I think its originial intent probably was, but it is correct.

Best,

Amy

“Whom would you prefer to the two of us?” definitely does not have the same meaning as “Whom would you prefer between the two of us”? Let me try to explain.

If someone asked me “Whom would you prefer to the two of us?”, I would understand them to be asking me who I would rather do something with instead of “the two of us.” Using your coffee and tea example above, I might answer the question by saying “I prefer Charlie to the two of you.” The word “to” is being used in place of “instead of.”

However, if someone asked me “Whom would you prefer between the two of us?”, I would understand them to be asking me to choose one person or the other person. If we pretend that the “the two of us” are named Wendy and Mark, my answer would be either “I prefer Wendy” or “I prefer Mark.” The word “between” is being used to indicate that I have a choice.

Regarding your sentence above: “I prefer coffee to tea,” it is also correct to say “I prefer coffee over tea.” It doesn’t make a lot of sense when you think about the preposition “over,” but it is used this way in English all the time.

English is a confusing language with so many exceptions to the rules, isn’t it? :-)

Best,

Amy