Most
We use the quantifiermostto talk about quantities, amounts and degree. We can use it with a noun (as a determiner) or without a noun (as a pronoun). We can also use it with adjectives and adverbs to form the superlative.
Mostwith a noun
We usemostwith nouns to mean ‘the majority of’:
She plays tennismostmornings.
Mosttap water is drinkable.
We don’t usethe mostwith this meaning:
The sun shines over 800 hours during June, July and August and onmostdays temperatures rise above 25 degrees.
Not: …and on the most days…
When we are talking about the majority of something in general, we usemost+ noun. When we are talking about the majority of a specific set of something, we usemost of the+ noun.
| Desserts in general |
| A specific set of desserts (at the party) |
When we usemostbefore articles (a/an, the), demonstratives (this, that), possessives (my, your) or pronouns (him, them), we needof:
Most ofthe information was useful. Some of it wasn’t relevant.
Not:Most the information…
They soldmost oftheir apartments quite quickly.
When there is no article, demonstrative or possessive pronoun, we don’t usually useof:
There hasn’t been much rain.Most riversare below their normal levels.
Not:Most of rivers are below their normal levels.
We usemost ofbefore geographical names:
[from a weather forecast]
Most ofEngland and Wales should be dry throughout the day.
Mostwithout a noun
We can leave out the noun withmostwhen the noun is obvious:
[talking about school lunches]
Some children brought a packed lunch butmosthad a cooked meal in the canteen.(most children)
See also:
Most
Least,the least,at least
Adjectives: comparative and superlative
The most
The mostis the superlative form ofmany, much. We usethe mostwith different classes of words.
The mostwith adjectives and adverbs
We usethe mostto make the superlative forms of longer adjectives and the majority of adverbs:
They’re usingthe mostadvanced technology in the world.(+ adjective)
[the Lake District is an area in Britain]
Scafell Pike isthe mosteasily identifiable peak in the Lake District.(+ adverb)
The mostwith a noun
We usethe mostwith a noun to mean ‘more/less than all of the others’:
Ian earnsthe mostmoney in our family.
We can leave out the noun when it is obvious:
He didn’t tell the best jokes but he toldthe most.(the most jokes)
Themostwith a verb
We usethe mostwith a verb as an adverb:
They all cried, but Claire criedthe most.
See also:
Superlative forms
Least,the least,at least
Mostly
Mostlyis an adverb that means ‘mainly’:
I ammostlyinterested in the history of the house.(I am interested in other things about the house but my main interest is its history.)
We don’t usemostlyinstead ofmostorthe most.
| I liked the beautiful beaches more than anything else. Which beaches were the ones that you liked more than any others? We stayed on the beach for the majority of the time. |