It rains the most heavily...

[naweewra]

Hello,

Does this sentence sound natural? If not, how should I change it?

Although it sometimes starts to rain in May, it rains the most heavily from August to October.

Thank you.

Nawee

 

[Rover_KE]

Delete 'the'.

 

[naweewra]

Why?

 

[bhaisahab]

Why?

It's unnecessary. Although, unlike Rover, I would say it's OK with it.

 

[White Hat]

Yes, there is no need for a definite article in that particular case.

However, if you want to say that the most rain precipitation is produced over that period of time, you may want to say:

It rains the heaviest from August to October.

I wonder if I see it the right way.

 

[naweewra]

Maybe Rover was thinking about the use of the superlative when the same object is compared in different situations?

She works hardest when she is working for her family.

Does my sentence about "rain" fit the special usage?

 

[naweewra]

Don't we use "heavily" to describe the verb "rain"?

I have heard the adjective used, but I was under the impression that it was an informal style and that the "correct" form is still "heavily".

 

[bhaisahab]

Don't we use "heavily" to describe the verb "rain"?

I have heard the adjective used, but I was under the impression that it was an informal style and that the "correct" form is still "heavily".

"heavily" is correct.

 

[Rover_KE]

Adjective - heavy, heavier, heaviest.

Adverb - heavily, more heavily, most heavily.

'We had heavy rain today.' 'It was heavier yesterday'. 'It was heaviest on Wednesday.'

'It's raining heavily now.' 'It rained more heavily yesterday.' 'It rained most heavily on Wednesday.'

In none of those cases would I use 'the'.

 

[White Hat]

Came across this sentence online. It's written by a person called Denis Oakley (Although for some reason I doubt he is a native speaker).

One thing that we didn't have to worry about was hydration as it rained the heaviest that I have ever seen in the UK.

Would that be considered as an error?

 

[White Hat]

Here is one more. This one looks like it IS written by a native speaker:

OK so earlier it rained the heaviest I have seen it rain in a LONG time. Fairly briefly, however. Bouncing off everything and very low visibility. Normally we're used to just drizzle here.

​

 

[White Hat]

And the last one I'd like to share with you guys:

Miller said, “The week we were to start, it rained the heaviest it had in 10 years. I’ll never forget the first day — we were holed up in a big sort of shed watching the rain. We couldn’t shoot. If you want the rain to come, just send a film crew there.”

 

[tzfujimino]

And the last one I'd like to share with you guys:

Miller said, “The week we were to start, it rained the heaviest it had in 10 years. I’ll never forget the first day — we were holed up in a big sort of shed watching the rain. We couldn’t shoot. If you want the rain to come, just send a film crew there.”

I agree that 'heavy' is sometimes used as an adverb.
I've found this: heavy - Dictionary definition and pronunciation - Yahoo! Education

I wouldn't go so far as to say it (="it rained (the) heaviest.") is ungrammatical.
However, it would be much safer to use 'heavily'.

For your reference:
44 sentence examples using 'snow heavily'
1425 sentence examples using 'snow heavy'

 

[Raymott]

Came across this sentence online. It's written by a person called Denis Oakley (Although for some reason I doubt he is a native speaker).

One thing that we didn't have to worry about was hydration as it rained the heaviest that I have ever seen in the UK.

Would that be considered as an error?

That's a different structure. You can't say "Yesterday it rained heaviest I've ever seen", but you can say, "It rains heaviest in July."

 

[White Hat]

That's a different structure. You can't say "Yesterday it rained heaviest I've ever seen", but you can say, "It rains heaviest in July."

What if we place "the" in front of "heaviest"? Will it sound OK?

Just like here:

For four hours it thundered, lightninged and rained the heaviest, by far, that I or anyone else in our Regiment had ever experienced.

(from Lieutenant Owen William Steele of the Newfoundland Regiment by David R. Facey-Crowther)

The idea is to show that someone has never had that much rain in the area up until that day.

I just want to make sure I can use the phrase in everyday life without it sounding too awkward to native speakers.

 

[White Hat]

Omitting "the" makes me feel something is missing. I wonder if this source looks at it the right way:

• Jeff works the most quietly of all the students.
• Of the three drivers, Mary drives the most carefully.
• Mary sings the most happily of all the girls in the group.
• Steve works the hardest.
• Mary runs the fastest of all the runners on the team.
• Steve gets to work the earliest of all.

The question is

Do we ALWAYS have to use "the" before adverbs or can we sometimes dispense with it? To me it seems we SHOULD use "the" with adverbs whenever we want the superlative form to directly express a degree of the adverb being used that is greater than any other possible degree of the given descriptor, as in this example:

Steve gets to work the earliest of all.

 

[White Hat]

In my neck of the woods, it usually rains the most heavily in October.

In this sentence, the author wants to let us know that October is the month the most rain precipitation is produced in his country.


But if he says

In my neck of the woods, it usually rains most heavily in October.

it might mean that it does rain heavily in October in his country, but he doesn't tell us whether it rains THE MOST heavily, compared to what happens in other months.

How does this work? I'm a teacher and want to have this down cold. Thank you.

 

[White Hat]

I guess I got it now!

"If I can use a different example, perhaps it will explain:


1) John is the most talkative amongst his friends.
2) John is most talkative amongst his friends.

In the first sentence it means that compared to his friends John is the most talkative of them all, none of them talks as much as John does. This is a superlative.

In the second it indicates that when he is amongst his friends John is at his most talkative, but without his friends, perhaps his shyness kicks in, and he becomes much quieter."

This is what I was looking for!

 

[tzfujimino]

Hello, Bennevis.:-D

So, in your first example, the speaker/writer is comparing different people.
In your second example, on the other hand, the speaker/writer is comparing the same person (=John) in different situations (=when he is amongst his friends).

 

[White Hat]

Yes, that's exactly what it is, tzfujimino. For some reason, native speakers haven't given this thread the attention it needs. I don't know why. Maybe it has to do with one of those grey areas they don't like getting into. Well, I am grateful to the OP for starting this thread. Cheers!