[Grammar] I like her most / I like her the most

[wotcha]

1) I like her most.

2) I like her the most.

I've known that the superative form of adverb 'well' is just 'most' not 'the most', but I came across the second sentence in a kid's ESL book today. Is it possible to say 'I like her the most' in stead of 'I like her most'? Is it grammatically correct?

 

[Jack_Rose]

Hey,

I guess the sentence is fine. Recall that "most" is an adverb, a determiner, and also a pronoun. In your sentence, it plays the role of an adverb.


Sincerely,

I am not an English teacher.

 

[Tdol]

1) I like her most.

2) I like her the most.

I've known that the superative form of adverb 'well' is just 'most' not 'the most', but I came across the second sentence in a kid's ESL book today. Is it possible to say 'I like her the most' in stead of 'I like her most'? Is it grammatically correct?

I like her the most is correct, but I think we need to know the group, etc, she belongs to that she is the superlative of.

BTW, what do you mean about well & most?

 

[birdeen's call]

I like her the most is correct, but I think we need to know the group, etc, she belongs to that she is the superlative of.

BTW, what do you mean about well & most?

I think wotcha means this. We can't say

He plays the well.

so we shouldn't be allowed to say

He plays the best.

Unfortunately for us learners, we are.

It's illogical to "article" adverbs. It is illogical according to me and I guess according to people from the AHD and MW who consider this "the" an adverb. Which seems even stranger to me though. Whatever it is, it seems to have an etymology different from that of the regular "the".

 

[wotcha]

I like her the most is correct, but I think we need to know the group, etc, she belongs to that she is the superlative of.

BTW, what do you mean about well & most?

Ah.. sorry I was confused. best with most.

I meant the comparative of 'much' is 'more' and the superlative of 'much' is most.

 

[5jj]

Swan (Practical English Usage, 3d edition, p. 357) notes:

In comparision (when most means 'more than any other/others') it is normally used with the before nouns.

Susan found the most blackberries.

The is sometimes dropped in an informal style.[...]

(The) most can also be used as an adverb. The is often dropped in an informal style.

They all talk a lot , but your little girl talks (the) most. [...]

(The) most is used to make the superlative form of longer adjectives and most adverbs. [...]

I work most efficiently in the early morning.

 

[birdeen's call]

(The) most can also be used as an adverb.

That "the most" is an adverb in

Your little girl talks the most.

is clear. Calling "the" alone an adverb seems desperate to me.

 

[5jj]

Calling "the" alone an adverb seems desperate to me.

I agree.