The most or most

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.

Should I include the definite article in my sentence before 'most'?

'Choose a book that interests you most.'

 

[jutfrank]

Before we answer, tell us how you want to use this sentence. Please remember to do this every time.

 

[Rachel Adams]

Before we answer, tell us how you want to use this sentence. Please remember to do this every time.

I cannot get used to the fact that context is so important in English. Sorry. I can imagine asking my friend this question while standing in front of my bookcase.

 

[GoesStation]

Your sentence doesn't quite work because the superlative "most" applies to a specific number of books which is either singular or plural. Either say "Choose a book" and stop there, or find a way to tell us how many books. We don't need to know the number, just whether it's one book or several.

 

[jutfrank]

I cannot get used to the fact that context is so important in English. Sorry. I can imagine asking my friend this question while standing in front of my bookcase.

Please try to get used to it. It isn't so hard.

Thank you. Your context is invaluable because it tells us something about the nature of the reference that you're making. We now know whether you've used the article correctly. (Unfortunately, you haven't.)

This is what you're trying to say:

Choose the book that interests you the most.

You have to say the book because you're talking about only one book.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'd be happy enough without the article before "most".

 

[Rachel Adams]

Please try to get used to it. It isn't so hard.

Thank you. Your context is invaluable because it tells us something about the nature of the reference that you're making. We now know whether you've used the article correctly. (Unfortunately, you haven't.)

This is what you're trying to say:

Choose the book that interests you the most.

You have to say the book because you're talking about only one book.

I thought 'a book' is poissible because I mean 'any' book not a specific one.

 

[emsr2d2]

I thought 'a book' is poissible because I mean 'any' book not a specific one.

If you just say "Choose a book", the indefinite article is possible. It means the person can choose any (single) book. It's not possible to say "Choose a book you like [the] most" because you are specifying the book they must choose - the one they like [the] most.

 

[GoesStation]

This is what you're trying to say:

Choose the book that interests you the most.

You have to say the book because you're talking about only one book.

She could be talking about multiple books. In that case, she could say Choose the books that interest you the most.

 

[Rachel Adams]

If you just say "Choose a book", the indefinite article is possible. It means the person can choose any (single) book. It's not possible to say "Choose a book you like [the] most" because you are specifying the book they must choose - the one they like [the] most.

In my sentence 'most' was optional and the meaning of the sentence was still the same. But if I use it before adverbs such as 'beautifully' the meaning of the sentence changes. Does it also depend on each situation? On another forum an AmE speaker explained the difference 'She sings most beautifully'. He said it means that she sings very beautifully and that there is no comparison between her and other singers. While 'She sings the most beautifully' implies that there are more than two singers and she sings the most beautifully of them all. Maybe it's common in AmE only?

 

[Rover_KE]

No—'most' meaning 'very' is common in all varieties of English.

 

[emsr2d2]

I would agree with that AmE speaker's explanation of the difference between "most beautifully" and "the most beautifully". In BrE, too, "most" before an adverb is taken to mean "very" or "extremely". It's not a superlative there.

I'm not sure what you meant by saying the meaning of your sentences would have been the same without "most". That's not true.

Choose the book you like the most. :tick:
Choose the book you like. :cross:

 

[Rachel Adams]

I would agree with that AmE speaker's explanation of the difference between "most beautifully" and "the most beautifully". In BrE, too, "most" before an adverb is taken to mean "very" or "extremely". It's not a superlative there.

I'm not sure what you meant by saying the meaning of your sentences would have been the same without "most". That's not true.

Choose the book you like the most. :tick:
Choose the book you like. :cross:

I thought the is no difference in meaning between 1. 'Choose the book you like the most.' 2. And 'Choose the book you like most.' In post #11 I quoted you and you used [most]. So I thought it's optional.
Do I misunderstand?:shock:

 

[emsr2d2]

You said "most" was optional. I think you meant "the" was optional.

Choose the book you like most = Choose the book you like the most.

 

[Rachel Adams]

You said "most" was optional. I think you meant "the" was optional.

Choose the book you like most = Choose the book you like the most.

Yes, sorry. So it's not wrong to say that sometimes there is no difference in meaning whether we use 'the' or not. Right? With 'she sings most beautifully' and 'she sings the most beautifully' there obviously is a difference.

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes. The use of "most" in "you like [the] most" is different from its use in "most beautifully".

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I cannot get used to the fact that context is so important in English. Sorry. I can imagine asking my friend this question while standing in front of my bookcase.

In this sentence, "the" is optional. With or without it, the sentence would mean the same thing.

But Jutfrank's request makes sense. Telling us how the words will be used is a good habit, because it helps us give you relevant answers.