Korean Job Discussion Forums

ruffie · Joined: 11 Oct 2006

A korean teacher was going around with two examples today.

Friends are most important to me.

Friends are the most important to me.

She was wondering which one is correct.

The first seems to be trying to function as an adverb (very), not necessarily meaning the highest or ultimate, similar to "The situation was most unpleasant." The second is an adjective meaning the highest amount or greatest quantity.

Am I wrong? She had some sort of Korean multiple choice question so I'm not sure about the context. I wish I could help her more.

It is most puzzling, but not the most puzzling grammar question I've seen.
I'd appreciate some help.

Woland · Joined: 10 May 2006 Location: Seoul

You have it right, except that 'most' when used as a superlative marker is still an adverb, not an adjective.

The other thing that is odd is that the second sentence is missing a noun after important. I would expect something like, 'Friends are the most important thing to me.' Of course, this word can be left out in discourse if it is clear, as in this exchange:

A: Money is the most important thing to me.

B: How crass! Friends are the most important to me.

I can only wonder where this test came from if it has items like this.

ruffie · Joined: 11 Oct 2006

Woland · Joined: 10 May 2006 Location: Seoul

[quote="ruffie"]I don't understand why the kids are into this heavy, error ridden grammar book when they can't verbalise a simple sentence.[quote]

The kids aren't into it. The teachers are because:

1) they believe that it will actually help the kids on the test

2) it's what they know how to teach

3) it's how they learned English

Many times the teachers aren't all that into it, either, but they don't know what to do otherwise and are afraid to try anything new for fear it won't work and students will do poorly on the test and they will be blamed.

See if you can get a hold of Michael Swan's article, Seven Bad Reasons to Teach Grammar... and Two Good Ones. You'll get an accurate description of the whys of grammar teaching in Korea (and many other places) in the bad section there.

Novernae · Joined: 02 Mar 2005

jeffkim1972 · Joined: 10 Jan 2007 Location: Mokpo

Here is the problem, right in front of our face. Koreans try to teach the most esoteric of grammar that even native speakers don't know, while at the same time, people cannot even hold a conversation.

I'm not bashing the OP, just stating what is wrong with the education system.

ruffie · Joined: 11 Oct 2006

Woland · Joined: 10 May 2006 Location: Seoul

Privateer · Joined: 31 Aug 2005 Location: Easy Street.

IMHO it's not always helpful to explicitly teach the rules of grammar relating to the lesson at hand (particularly when the lesson goal is for them to produce conversation rather than articulate rules). However, you should always make sure you know the grammar inside-out yourself so you can present it if need arises.

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

I agree with what's been said so far, I'd just like to add that often in Korea I have come across a tendancy to focus on grammatical terminology and analysis and leave out comprehension.

It's not that grammar terms should or shouldn't be studied, but they should not come before comprehension and fluency. To me, it's like putting the cart before the horse. If you can't make a sentence using the simple present tense, what is the point of studying advanced level grammar and structural analysis?