grammar - When to use "most" or "the most"


I came across with this sentence and it cast me doubt the usage of "most" and "the most"


The sentence states: "But what I remembered most is moving a lot"


Would it change the meaning of the sentence if I interchange "most" with "the most"? I am a little confused about when to use these words.


Previous to this post I searched for the difference between these words but I think I need not only the definition but examples to distinguish their usage. Thank you



Answer



"But what I remembered most is moving a lot" is correct, with or without "the". Although "the most" is the superlative, preferable.


Here, "most" is used as an adverb modifying the verb "remember", meaning "to the greatest extent". There may be other examples, where it can mean "extremely" as in the following:"it was most kind of you", "that is most probably correct".


As an adjective while qualifying a noun, it takes "the" as in the following example:
Here's the most expensive book I ever bought.


As a noun, "most" takes the definite article. For example, "The most (that) you can do is to try again."


For further review: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/most http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/most-the-most-mostly


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