Basic English Grammar - MOST, ALMOST, or ALMOST ALL?

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Hi, my name is Emma, and today we are going to talk about the difference between "most"

Now this is something I have seen many students make mistakes with.

If you say "almost" instead of "most" in a sentence, sometimes it sounds a little funny.

So you have to be very careful with the difference between "most" and "almost."

So to start, I am going to tell you what the difference between these two are.

"Most" is an adjective.

That means it describes a noun.

It means a large percent.

So by large percent, usually we are talking about between 80 to 99 percent.

So let's look at some examples with "most."

Most children like candy.

So this means between 80 to 99 percent of children like candy.

Children is the noun.

So "most" is what describes children.

It's the adjective.

Let's look at example number two.

Most people watch movies.

So again, "people" is the noun, and "most" is the adjective that is describing people.

So again, "most" is a large percent.

So what is "almost" then?

Well, "almost" is an adverb.

So "almost" -- sorry -- an adverb can describe a noun in certain cases.

It can describe a verb.

It can describe an adjective.

And it can describe other adverbs.

So whereas "most" you're limited.

It can only describe a noun, "almost" can describe all sorts of categories of words.

So "almost" -- when we talk about "almost," we're talking about how close.

Another synonym of "almost" is "nearly."

So let's look at some examples to better understand "almost."

I was almost late for school.

So in this case, we are describing an adjective.

Late is an adjective.

And "almost" is describing late.

So what does this sentence mean?

I was almost late for school.

Well, it means I was on time, but maybe school starts at 9 a.m.

I arrived at 8.59.

I was very close to being late.

Second example.

My niece is almost walking.

So "walking" is a verb.

Sorry, it's a verb.

"Almost" is describing the verb "walking."

My niece is almost walking.

She's not walking yet.

She is close to walking.

So in this case, when I say my niece is almost walking, what do I mean?

Probably my niece is a small child, maybe a baby, and she's taking her first steps.

She's crawling right now, but soon she will walk.

I am almost 26 years old.

So when we use "almost," oftentimes we describe certain types of nouns.

We describe nouns of time and nouns of place.

So "I am almost 26 years old" means I am nearly 26 years old.

So 26, that's a noun.

So in this case, "almost" is describing a noun.

And again, it's describing a noun that has to do with time.

I am almost 26 years old, and that means I am close to being 26 years old.

It means I'm 25 turning 26.

Finally, I'm almost there.

So this is referring to a place.

I'm almost there means you're very close.

How close are you?

Very close, but not there yet.

So again, we're describing a place, we're describing a noun.

We can change "there" to any destination we want.

I'm almost at the theater.

I'm almost at your house.

I'm almost at school.

So again, "almost" is an adverb that can describe adjectives, verbs, nouns, and other adverbs.

So this is when things get a little confusing.

A lot of students mix up "almost all" with "almost".

Now there is a key difference here.

"All" is 100%.

When we talk about all the books, we mean 100% of the books.

All of the students, 100% of the students.

"Almost all" means about 99%, so you're missing that 1%.

So again, I told you before that "almost" is an adverb that can modify a noun, an adjective,

a verb, and an adverb.

"All" is an adjective.

So in this case, "almost" is modifying an adjective.

We also have "most" here.

"Most" is less than "almost all".

So I told you before, "most" is usually about 80% to 99%.

If this is a ranking scale, "most" is a little less than "almost all".

So let's look at some examples.

Almost all teachers want their students to do well.

Almost all teachers want their students to do well.

So this means about 99% of teachers want their students to do well.

Just a side note, I want you guys to do well.

So I'm a part of this 99.

So this "almost all" is also used for emphasis.

We're really emphasizing the fact of this number, "almost all".

We're emphasizing the fact it's 99%.

And here is a different example.

Most teachers want their students to do well.

In this case, we have used "most".

Now again, this is saying that it is less than "almost all", but still a large percentage.

Most teachers want their students to do well.

Finally, and in this case, there is no emphasis.

So in the first case when we say "almost all", there's a strong emphasis.

For "most teachers", when you use "most", there's not a strong emphasis.

Last example, "almost teachers want".

I didn't finish this example.

I'm just showing you this.

This sentence is incorrect.

I never want to see "almost teachers".

So let's practice "almost" and "most" in some questions.

Number one, blank students passed the test.

Blank students passed the test.

What do you think it is, "almost" or "most"?

The answer, "most" or "almost all".

You can have either "most", "almost all".

You can't have just "almost".

Number two, I am blank finished.

I am blank finished.

Well, we know that "most" modifies a noun, "finished".

It's not a noun, so therefore we know "almost".

I am almost finished, meaning close to finish.

I will be finished soon.

Three, it is blank three o'clock.

It is blank three o'clock.

What do you think?

We said "almost", you are correct.

It is almost three o'clock.

So we use "almost", like I said before, with time.

Time and place.

Number four, and this means, again, it is close to three o'clock.

So maybe it is 2.59.

Maybe it's 2.55.

It's close to three o'clock.

Number four, I am 40 years old.

What do you think?

I am almost 40 years old.

All right, excellent lesson.

If you need more practice, I highly recommend visiting us at our site, www.engvid.com.

Until next time.