most
part of speech
adjective, pronoun, adverb (many/much, more, most); noun (the most)
meaning for a pupil
1) Most means the biggest amount or number. The one with the most has more than all the others. tree →
2) Most means nearly all, more than half: «most children like ice cream». tree →
3) Most makes long adjectives into «the biggest» form: «the most beautiful». tree →
4) «At most» means that number or less, not more. tree →
5) (casual, US) «Most» is clipped «almost»: «most everyone came». tree →
6) (casual) «The most» can mean very: «that's the most fun ever»; «make the most of it» means use it well. tree →
7) (formal) «Most» means very: «a most interesting question»; «the maximum», «the majority» and «not exceeding» are stiff words: «The majority of respondents…» tree →
sense in the lessons
In school maths: a comparison — the largest number; «at most» means no more than (an upper limit); «most of» means more than half; the mode is the value that comes up most often; bar graphs (the tallest bar). In everyday life: «most of the time», «make the most of» (use well). In casual talk: «who got the most?», «mostest» (jokey, wrong). In the exam voice: «the maximum number», «the majority», «a capacity not exceeding 4». Phrases: «at most», «the most», «most of», «make the most of», «for the most part», «at the very most».
examples
- Who has the most apples? tree →
- Which day had the most rain? tree →
- At most 4 children fit in a car. tree →
- Most of the pupils walk to school. tree →
- The tallest bar shows the class that read the most books. tree →
- She is the most helpful person I know. tree →
- Let's make the most of the sunny weather. tree →
- The mode is the number that appears most often. tree →
- who got the most sweets, i got 7 (casual) tree →
- You've got the most and you're still moaning? Greedy git. (rough) tree →
- That is a most interesting question. (formal) tree →
- Each vehicle has a capacity not exceeding 4 passengers; determine the minimum number of vehicles required for 18. (formal exam) tree →
- They complain most who suffer least. tree →
note
«The most» + long adjective (the most famous); short adjectives take -est (the tallest), not «the most tall». Opposite: «least» or «fewest». Maths: points to the largest value, or an upper limit. Trap: «at most» means no more than; «most of» is more than half, not all. Trap: formal «a most kind offer» means very kind, not the biggest. Formal «the majority» = most (more than half); «not exceeding» = at most.
In the corpora
- These things are worrying, but they are almost never anyone's fault at home, and most families get through them.
- Most grown-ups keep their money in a bank account, and most of it is never seen as notes and coins.
- Some cash machines charge a fee for taking out money, while most bank ones are free.
- Most adults have some, like a mortgage or a car loan, and planned debt can be fine.
- The easiest money is usually the most expensive kind.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «most» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.