[Grammar] Subject-Verb Concord

[emp0608]

Hi folks,

I've come across the following sentence in The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, the Nobel Prize winner in literature this year: 'The wide, airy nature of the streets here give the city a marvellously spacious feel, so that I found it most easy to spend some hours just strolling in the gently warm sunshine.'

Is it just a careless error we should make no fuss about or is it something he should feel ashamed of? And also, is 'most easy' fine in this case?

Thanks as always,

emp0608

 

[GoesStation]

Most easy conveys a different idea than easiest.​ The former means "easy; indeed, extremely easy". The second means "the most easy among any number of options".

 

[GoesStation]

Most easy conveys a different idea than easiest.​ The former means "easy; indeed, extremely easy". The second means "the least difficult among any number of options".

I made the serious error of using the term I was explaining in its explanation. See my amended version above.

 

[Tdol]

or is it something he should feel ashamed of?

A Nobel Prize winner for literature is imperfect. I'm sure many others have also made mistakes. I doubt that he's losing much sleep over it. I'd leave the shame for something genuinely serious. ;-)