Hi there!
Could you please tell me the difference between "Most of" and "Most"?
Could you please tell me the difference between "Most of" and "Most"?
- Most of American high school students claim they know how to read.
or:
- Most American high school students claim they know how to read.
which sentence is correct? and Why?
Interesting idea, screamerer, but I don't think it's true. A more basic difference can be seen here:I'm not sure, but I think that both sentences are correct and only differ in their, say, intellectual focus.
Respect. Although I don't understand what's not true, that they are both correct, or the explanation?Interesting idea, screamerer, but I don't think it's true. A more basic difference can be seen here:
In general, if you are talking about a large, general group, you should use most.
If you are talking about a smaller, more specific group, you should use most of.
Most of students claim they know how to read.Anyway, however, I think part of the ruling out of some language constructs, and the designation of them as incorrect or weak, is actually a matter of high unlikliness that the very fine, infrequent sense conveyed by such constructs is descriptive of the thought case, and not that they are actually wrong.
Most of students claim they know how to read.
In normal circumstances native speakers would not say this, and would consider it unnatural if they heard it. If written by a student, it would be corrected. If produced in a test, it would cause marks to be lost. It's not a question of a 'very fine infrequent sense conveyed ' by this - it's just not correct English.
I think that as a native speaker and a teacher for many years, I can generally judge what is acceptable or not in British English.'It's not a question of a 'very fine infrequent sense conveyed ' by this'.. . Since it's not your question, I suggest you let the asker be the judge of that.
'It's not a question of a 'very fine infrequent sense conveyed ' by this'.. . Since it's not your question, I suggest you let the asker be the judge of that.
I think you're mixing up "It's not a question of ..." (an idiomatic English phrase simply meaning "The important thing here is not ...") with the actual question posted by the OP. The rather more relevant part of 5jj's post was "it's just not correct English" and, with all due respect, we should not let the asker be the judge of that.