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faith2k
Joined: 05 Oct 2007
Posts: 103
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 Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:58 am Post subject: most vs most of |
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I understand that "most" is used in general sense as in "Most teenagers enjoy spending time with their friends," whereas "most of" refers to a particular group as in "Most of the teenagers enjoyed the party."
Then, is the following sentence acceptable?:
"Most students in my class have watched that movie."
Is it same as "Most of the students in my class watched that movie."?
Thank you. |
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Philo Kevetch
Joined: 01 Feb 2006
Posts: 564
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| Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 6:55 pm Post subject: |
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Hello Faith2k -
According to "Basic English Usage" by Michael Swan (Oxford Univ. Press)-
-"most + noun"
"Most teenagers enjoy 'A' party (or parties).
"Most students....have watched 'A' movie (or movies).
and -
"Before another determiner (for example: the, my, this) we use 'most of'.
We also use 'most of' before a pronoun." (Swan)
-"most of + determiner + noun" and "most of + pronoun"
"Most 'OF THE' teenagers enjoyed 'THE' party."
Most 'OF THE' teenagers enjoyed 'MY' party.
"Most 'OF THE' students......have watched 'THAT' movie."
- It is the use of a 'determiner' ("THE party","THAT movie")
as to when to use 'most of' (not uncountable or plural noun).
Philo
Last edited by Philo Kevetch on Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:24 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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faith2k
Joined: 05 Oct 2007
Posts: 103
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| Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 6:58 am Post subject: |
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Dear Philo,
I didn't fully understand what you wrote here.
Are you saying that "most" takes only uncountable nouns but not the countable nouns such as "students"?
Are you saying "most teenagers enjoy a party" is not corret?
I did not understands the following part:
"most + noun" (uncountable/plural) ---> "most of + determiner + noun"
"Most teenagers enjoy 'A Party'/'PARTIES'. --->
Faith2k |
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Philo Kevetch
Joined: 01 Feb 2006
Posts: 564
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| Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 5:01 pm Post subject: |
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| see edit of previous response above |
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redset
Joined: 18 Mar 2006
Posts: 582
Location: England
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| Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 1:56 pm Post subject: Re: most vs most of |
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| faith2k wrote: |
I understand that "most" is used in general sense as in "Most teenagers enjoy spending time with their friends," whereas "most of" refers to a particular group as in "Most of the teenagers enjoyed the party."
Then, is the following sentence acceptable?:
"Most students in my class have watched that movie."
Is it same as "Most of the students in my class watched that movie."?
Thank you. |
"Most students in my class" is really an informal way of saying "most of the students in my class", so your two sentences have the same meaning but the first is less 'acceptable' (although you'll hear more and more people using that form). You used the past perfect in the first sentence as well, which also has a slightly different meaning!
As you said, "most teenagers enjoy..." is a general statement about all teenagers, whereas "most of the teenagers" is a statement about a specific group - you didn't say what group, but it's implied the reader understands what that group is. When you say "most students in my class", the 'in my class' part is defining that group - you're not talking about all students, just the ones in your class. When you're talking about a group, you usually say "most of the students in my class", but sometimes people leave out the 'of the' part in informal speech. You're still saying 'in my class' so people know you're talking about the group, and not all students.
If you simply said "most students have watched the movie", without saying of the or specifying the group, there would be no way of knowing you're talking about a group - so the reader would assume you meant all students! |
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faith2k
Joined: 05 Oct 2007
Posts: 103
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| Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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Dear Redset,
It is very clear now. Thank you very much! |
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