The Difference Most, Most of, the Most, Mostly

The words and phrases, most, most of, the most and mostly may confuse English learners. Therefore, on this post, we discuss the difference most, most of, the most and mostly.

Most, Most of, The most & Mostly

Most

The word most is used to talk about quantities, amount and degree. How do we use most in a sentence?

Use most with a Noun.

When we use most with a noun, it means "the majority of". Most also means generally. Look at the example below:

(1) I play game most mornings.

(2) I spend most weekends to learn English.

(3) Most people in Indonesia prefer to rice to corn as their staple food.

Explanation:

If we look at the example number 1, most is followed by the word mornings (as noun). In this case, the word most means all mornings. 

The example number 3, Most can be put at the beginning of the sentence as long as it is followed by noun (people). The word most in this example shows "majority." Something in general.

Most without noun

We can use most without noun which means that the noun is obvious.

For example:

Some students in grade 9 read a book in library, but most stay in classroom.

Explanation:

The sentence above shows that the word most is not followed by students. It is because the noun (students in grade nine) is obvious. 

Most of

The same thing, most of is used to talk about quantities, amounts and degree. Most of is used to refer specific things, people or certain group.

How do we use most of in a sentence?

Most of + determiner + noun

There should be determiner (a, an, the) after the phrase most of then followed by noun. The examples as follows:

(1) The food served last night was delicious. Most of the desserts were made by himself.

(2) Most of the tourists from Australia do not visit Jakarta.

Explanation:

The examples number 1 and 2 show that the phrase most of followed by determiners (the) and nouns (desserts and tourist). The nouns used in these two sentences are obvious. Desserts related to last night food and the Australian tourist. 

Most of + pronouns/demonstratives/possessive.

Most of can also be followed by pronoun: Look at examples below:

(1) Most of her time is spent blogging.

(2) They sold most of their apartments quite quickly.

(3) I visited Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta to see elephant, giraffe, and other animals. Most of those animals are looked after by professional veterinarian.

(4) Most of my books are kept in my personal library.

Explanation:

The examples number 1 and 2 show that most of is followed by pronouns (her, their).

The example number (3) shows that most of is followed by demonstrative (those) refers to animals in Ragunan Zoo.

The example number (4) the phrase most of is followed by possessive (my). 

Most of can be followed by geographical name. 

Most and most of are followed by plural nouns. 

The most

The most is used in Superlative forms of longer adjective/more than one syllable adjective, such as advanced, beautiful, wonderful, handsome, expensive, dangerous, boring, interesting, etc.

How to use the most in a sentence? The most can be followed by adjective and adverbs.

Here are its examples:

(1) My students are using the most advanced technology to learn English.

(2) Labuan Bajo is the most beautiful island in Indonesia.

(3) Yesterday was the most wonderful day in my life.

(4) Afnan is the most handsome boy in his class.

(5) Ferrari is the most expensive car in Indonesia.

(6) Mathematic is the most boring subject in my class.

(7) English is the most interesting subject to learn.

(8) English is the most frequently language used to communicate globally.

Explanation:

The sentences number 1-7, the most is followed by adjective.

The sentence number 8, the most is followed by adverb (frequently).

Moreover, the most can be followed by nouns which mean more/less and can be followed by a verb.

The most + noun

My father earns the most money in my family.

The most + verb (as adverb)

The students in kindergarten cried, but Jack cried the most. 

Mostly

Mostly means mainly, usually, generally.

Example:

(1) I speak English mostly when I go abroad. 

(2) Jody is mostly interested in English class. 

Explanation:

The sentence number 1 shows that mostly describes how much the speaker uses English to communicate abroad. The example number 2, the word mostly describes that Jody loves English so much.

Most, most of, the most, mostly exercises.