Article about English language.

[Rollercoaster1]

Future forms for IELTS Speaking and Writing
Vocabulary is much more important than grammar in IELTS Speaking, and especially IELTS Speaking Part One. However, there are a few relevant grammatical points that candidates can study to improve their range and accuracy. The grammar that IELTS candidates most need to know in order to do well in Speaking Part One is a range of future forms, especially ones to talk about, in approximate order of usefulness...

This is the second paragraph from one of the articles on this website. Shouldn't the underlined word be 'must' instead of 'most'? This is the first article in the article section.

 

[GoesStation]

No. Try rearranging the phrase The grammar that IELTS candidates most need to know.

 

[Rollercoaster1]

No. Try rearranging the phrase The grammar that IELTS candidates most need to know.

Please do it.

 

[emsr2d2]

Here's a clue. Can you work out what it might mean in the following?

I need to know your gender. I need to know your age. I need to know your height. But the thing that I most need to know is your name!

 

[Rollercoaster1]

Here's a clue. Can you work out what it might mean in the following?

I need to know your gender. I need to know your age. I need to know your height. But the thing that I most need to know is your name!

How about '...But the thing that I need the most to know is your name!'

 

[emsr2d2]

Well, you've shown that you can rearrange the words and make another grammatical sentence but you haven't shown that you understand what it means. If you understand it, explain it back to me using different words (don't use the word "most" in your new version).

 

[Rollercoaster1]

I have found one more thing in the same article, which I think is a typo.

Of those, perhaps “research”, “evidence”, “consumption”, “garbage/ rubbish/ waste”, “knowledge”, “money”, “profits”, “statistics” and “traffic” are the most important, as they can also come up in other parts of the exam.
Countable and uncountable nouns also come up at lot in Writing Part One and Writing Part Two. In Writing Part One, countable and uncountable nouns most often come up with flowchart tasks and then map tasks, but they could also be an issue with topics of line graphs, bar charts, tables and pie charts like “spending” and “sales”.

 

[GoesStation]

I had underlined it in my previous post. Countable and uncountable nouns also come up at lot in Writing Part One and Writing Part Two.

That's a typo. Do you want to continue working on your original question?

 

[Rollercoaster1]

That's a typo. Do you want to continue working on your original question?

Yes.

 

[emsr2d2]

Then please do as I suggested in post #6.

 

[Rollercoaster1]

Well, you've shown that you can rearrange the words and make another grammatical sentence but you haven't shown that you understand what it means. If you understand it, explain it back to me using different words (don't use the word "most" in your new version).

Are you asking me what difference is there between 'must' and 'most' in the context?

 

[GoesStation]

How about '...But the thing that I need the most to know is your name!'

Are you asking me what difference is there between 'must' and 'most' in the context?

I don't think emsr2d2's question involves that difference. Can you rephrase the sentence you wrote above, retaining its meaning, without the words I've underlined?

 

[Rollercoaster1]

I don't think emsr2d2's question involves that difference. Can you rephrase the sentence you wrote above, retaining its meaning, without the words I've underlined?

'But the thing that I most need to know is your name!' sounds odd to me. It can either be 'But the thing that I need the most to know is your name!' or 'But the thing that I must need to know is your name!'

This is what the sentence will be without the underlined words 'But the thing that I need to know is your name!'

 

[emsr2d2]

The thing I most need to know = The thing I need to know more than anything else.

There, I did it for you. You might think "The thing I most need to know" sounds odd but I can assure you it is perfectly acceptable and grammatical. Your version with "must need to know" doesn't work. It has nothing to do with "must".

"Must" and "most" are not related at all.

 

[Rollercoaster1]

The thing I most need to know = The thing I need to know more than anything else.

There, I did it for you. You might think "The thing I most need to know" sounds odd but I can assure you it is perfectly acceptable and grammatical. Your version with "must need to know" doesn't work. It has nothing to do with "must".

"Must" and "most" are not related at all.

Indeed, they aren't. 'Must' suggests that it is obligatory, whereas 'most' suggests 'top priority' in the context we have discussed so far.

 

[GoesStation]

"Must" and "most" are not related at all.

Thanks for that. This thread's point was getting lost in the mist.

 

[Rollercoaster1]

Thanks for that. This thread's point was getting lost in the mist.

I was clinging to it, others thought I had lost it.

 

[Rollercoaster1]

The thing I most need to know = The thing I need to know more than anything else.

There, I did it for you. You might think "The thing I most need to know" sounds odd but I can assure you it is perfectly acceptable and grammatical. Your version with "must need to know" doesn't work. It has nothing to do with "must".

"Must" and "most" are not related at all.

;-)