Must vs Most - What's the difference?
must | most |
to do with certainty; (indicates that the speaker is certain that the subject will have executed the predicate)
The property of being stale or musty
Something that exhibits the property of being stale or musty
Fruit juice that will ferment or has fermented, usually grapes
* Longfellow
A time during which male elephants exhibit increased levels of sexual activity and aggressiveness (also musth)
* 1936 , George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant'' essay in magazine ''New Writing
Superlative form of much.
Superlative form of many.
:
*
*:At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors.In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.
*{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=20 *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-16, author=
, volume=189, issue=10, page=8, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= Superlative form of much.
:
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)
, title=
:
*, chapter=7
, title= *{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
, chapter=1 To a great extent or degree; highly; very.
:
*1895 , , (The Time Machine) Chapter X
*:Now, I still think that for this box of matches to have escaped the wear of time for immemorial years was a strange, and for me, a most fortunate thing.
(uncountable) The greatest amount.
(countable) A record-setting amount.
As nouns the difference between must and most
is that must is something that is mandatory or required while most is the greatest amount.As a verb must
is to do with certainty; indicates that the speaker is certain that the subject will have executed the predicateAs a determiner most is
superlative form of much.As an adverb most is
superlative form of many.must
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) . More at .Verb
(head)- If it has rained all day, it must be very wet outside.
- You picked one of two, and it wasn't the first: it must have been the second.
- The children must be asleep by now.
- You must arrive in class on time. — the requirement is an imperative
- This door handle must be rotated fully. — the requirement is a directive
- Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. (Bible, Acts 9:6)
Quotations
* 1936 , , More Poems , IX, lines 3-6 *: Forth I wander, forth I must , *: And drink of life again. *: Forth I must by hedgerow bowers *: To look at the leaves uncurled * 1937 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit *: We must away ere break of day *: To seek the pale enchanted gold. * 1968 Fritz Leiber, Swords in the Mist *: Whereupon while one patched or napped, the other must stand guard against inquisitive two- and three-headed dragons and even an occasional monocephalic.Usage notes
* (sense) Compare with weaker auxiliary verb (should), indicating a strong probability of the predicate's execution. * (sense) Compare with weaker auxiliary verb (should), indicating mere intent for the predicate's execution; and stronger auxiliary verb (will), indicating that the negative consequence will be unusually severe. * The past tense of "must" is also "must"; however, this usage is almost always literary (see Fritz Leiber quotation above). The past sense is usually conveyed by (had to). It is possible to use (be bound to) for the past also. For this reason, (have to) and (be bound to) are also used as alternatives to (must) in the present and future. * The principal verb, if easily supplied, may be omitted. In modern usage this is mainly literary (see Housman and Tolkien quotations above). * (term) is unusual in its negation. (term) still expresses a definite certainty or requirement, with the predicate negated. (term), on the other hand, is negated in the usual manner. Compare: :: You must not' read that book. (''It '''is''' necessary that you '''not read that book. ) :: You need not' read that book. (''It '''is not necessary that you read that book. ) * The second person singular no longer adds "-est" (as it did in Old English).See also
*Synonyms
* imperativeAntonyms
* no-noEtymology 2
(etyl) must, most, from (etyl) mustumNoun
(en noun)- No fermenting must fills the deep vats.
External links
* (wikipedia "must")Etymology 3
(etyl) .Noun
- It was not, of course, a wild elephant, but a tame one which had gone ‘must’.
Statistics
*most
English
Determiner
(en determiner)- Most people like chocolate.
- Most simply choose to ignore it.
- Most want the best for their children.
Synonyms
* almost allAdverb
(-)citation, passage=The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen.
John Vidal
Dams endanger ecology of Himalayas, passage=Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys.}}
Boundary problems, passage=Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most -used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too. GDP measures the total value of output in an economic territory. Its apparent simplicity explains why it is scrutinised down to tenths of a percentage point every month.}}
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=With some of it on the south and more of it on the north of the great main thoroughfare that connects Aldgate and the East India Docks, St.?Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the' poorest and ' most miserable parish in the East End of London.}}
citation, passage=“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes
Antonyms
* fewest * leastDerived terms
* -most * make the most of * mostly * foremostNoun
(en-noun)- The most I can offer for the house is $150,000.