[Vocabulary] Is this short sentence correct English?

[Casp]

Is this sentence correct English? "product X was the most one preferably".

I have tested a serie of products and found that one product (product X) was better than all the rest.
I know you can use other words, but please just tell me if it is correct English or if it sounds weird. Thanks very much. ;-)

 

[konungursvia]

It's wrong. Do you mean the one most preferred? Or the best one?

 

[Tdol]

If you found that it was better than the others, then it is the best. Preference is different- you can prefer something for reasons other than quality.

 

[emsr2d2]

Also, I don't really think "most preferred" really works (what the OP worded as "most one preferably"). Surely, if more people liked one thing more than the other things, or one person likes something more than some other things, then the thing is simply "preferred".

 

[Casp]

Thanks to all of you. ;-)

That is what I thought and why I asked - so much for professional proofreading.... I paid several hundred dollars for proofreading a report. The sentence was inserted by the proofreader into the report instead of my suggestion: "product X was the one I liked the most".

Now I fear that the whole thing is full of errors. This was just one example. How bad does "most one preferably" sound to a native ear? (my guess is that it is totally wrong).

 

[bhaisahab]

Thanks to all of you. ;-)

That is what I thought and why I asked - so much for professional proofreading.... I paid several hundred dollars for proofreading a report. The sentence was inserted by the proofreader into the report instead of my suggestion: "product X was the one I liked the most".

Now I fear that the whole thing is full of errors. This was just one example. How bad does "most one preferably" sound to a native ear? (my guess is that it is totally wrong).

Without context it's nonsense.

 

[5jj]

so much for professional proofreading.... I paid several hundred dollars for proofreading a report. [...]
Now I fear that the whole thing is full of errors.

Unfortunately, anyone can set themselves up as a proofreader.

(I have to admit, unfortunately, that anyone can set themselves up as a teacher of English.:-()

 

[Casp]

You are right 5jj - I knew that, that is why I paid extra to get a professional company. I guess they took advantage that English isn't my first language and outsourced the whole thing.

I have now included the start of the sentence: "Of all the products that I have tested in the past, product X was the most one preferably".

Still nonsense right?

I'm thinking about changing it to "Of all the products that I have tested in the past, product X stood out as something unique".

 

[emsr2d2]

You are right 5jj - I knew that, that is why I paid extra to get a professional company. I guess they took advantage that English isn't my first language and outsourced the whole thing.

I have now included the start of the sentence: "Of all the products that I have tested in the past, product X was the most one preferably".

Still nonsense right?

I'm thinking about changing it to "Of all the products that I have tested in the past, product X stood out as something unique".

You are right that the sentence you have at the moment with "most one preferably" is not correct, unfortunately.

I'm not sure about your version though. Just because a product was preferred, it's not necessarily unique. You would have to back up the claim that it is something unique with some actual facts about it. Since the rest of the sentence states that you were the one who did the testing, can you use "Of all the products that I have tested (you don't need "in the past"), product X was my favourite" or "... product X was the one I preferred" or "... product X is the one I prefer".

In my opinion, you should ask for your money back from the proofreading company. Feel free to send them a link to this thread to show why you believe their work to be sub-standard (maybe check if this is OK with the moderators).

 

[5jj]

In my opinion, you should ask for your money back from the proofreading company. Feel free to send them a link to this thread to show why you believe their work to be sub-standard (maybe check if this is OK with the moderators).

No need to check. Nothing in UE forums is secret or confidential.

As far as "product X was the most one preferably" is concerned - as konungursvia said, "It's wrong"; as bhai said, "It's nonsense"; as ems said, "It's not correct". Unfortunately, I don't think that a company that produces garbage like that is the sort of company that is going to offer money back. If Casp is prepared to risk throwing good money after bad, s/he might consider consulting a lawyer. If the proofreading company is based in Sweden, there may be some form of trading standards office that can intervene here. Any university Department of English in Europe or North America will confirm what konungursvia, bhai, ems and I have written. There is no way that anyone can claim that "product X was the most one preferably" is acceptable in any circumstances. It's gibberish.

 

[Casp]

Thanks emsr2d2 and 5jj.

emsr2d2: I like your suggestions, but I do back up the claim that it is something unique so perhaps my version is more objective than if I use "my favorite" or "I preferred" which would express a personal opinion. I will still consider your suggestions though, thanks.

5jj: The company is based in the US, and the person who proofread my document is team leader for all the other proofreaders, so there is no excuse for making that kind of mistakes. She made many typos and errors - I actually think she was trying to sabotage my work. Not sure why, but it is the only reason I can think of (or perhaps she outsourced my work although I was assured that they wouldn't do so). The company gave me a discount on the job, but I still paid too much considering how much time I have wasted on these issues. Shortly after she finished the job I got real ill for a long period of time and I couldn't finish my project. So here I am a couple of years later, trying to fix her errors...

Thanks for this great forum and you guys. ;-)