Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[faith2k]

I understand that "most" is the same in meaning as "almost all" as in "Most/almost all teenagers enjoy spending time with their friends."

Here is my question: in the previous example, would the native speaker of English prefer using "most" instead of "almost all"? If so, why?

Thank you for your help.

Faith2k

[educe22]

Other native speakers may differ in their opinion, but you are correct in saying that the meanings are essentially the same. To me it would be a matter of emphasis. My viewpoint is that I would consider "almost all" to be roughly equivalent to 90 percent (or more), whereas I would mentally assign a weight of 51% to 89% to "most".

In my opinion, it boils down to personal preference. There is no one definite categorization.
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Educe22

[Lorikeet]

For me, "almost all" is more than "most" but people's opinions may vary.