In general, if you are talking about a large, general group, you should use most.
Most people know how to ride a bike.
Most doctors earn a lot of money.
If you are talking about a smaller, more specific group, you should use most of.
Most of the people in this neighborhood are married.
Most of the doctors at this hospital earn a lot of money.
Grammatically, most is not followed by a determiner (a, the, this, etc.); you should use most of. If no determiner is used, just use most.
Most
ofpeople like chocolate. (no determiner, so don’t use of)I like most
offruits. (no determiner, so don’t use of)Most of my friends like movies. (my is a determiner, so you should use of)
I want to see most of the movies playing at the theater right now. (the is a determiner, so you should use of)
Of course, there are always exceptions:
If you are talking about a specific country or region , use most of.
Most of Africa is very hot.
Most of Europe uses the euro.
Note: for more detail, refer to Practical English Usage by Michael Swan
February 23, 2009 at 12:06 am
Just wanted to say thanks for the most and most of … difference. Have been correcting my students’ ESOL texts and couldn’t make up my mind on one particular mistake connected with that difference in usage. Then I thought, oh God which grammar book shall I consult, but luckily found it short and clear on your site.
Txn, Marina
April 2, 2009 at 3:32 am
I’ve been searching for this information for a while…went through my grammar books, and read many internet sources and here I finally found what I was looking for. Clearly and in a short cut. Thanks a lot!
Bart
April 6, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Glad I could help, thanks for your note.
November 30, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Thanks for this very handy tip !
February 11, 2010 at 8:03 pm
Thanks so much for a simple clear explanation 🙂
May 2, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Thank you a lot, I love this kind of simple but applicable explanation.
April 3, 2012 at 11:04 am
Thank you, have been trying to figure out the nuances. Just what I needed. Have bookmarked your homepage. Cheers.
April 3, 2012 at 11:34 am
Thinking about it, I think it must also be that Most + non-determiner can also be modified post facto to mean a smaller, specific group, as in:
Most of the students in ABC school have trouble with grammar.
OR
Most students in ABC school have trouble with grammar.
?
April 6, 2012 at 12:24 am
Good call. Upon further review, that appears to be the case. The main point is to check if you are using a determiner or not and use the correct form based on that.
February 25, 2013 at 12:52 am
Thanks. You’ve just replied one of my questions. I hope you explain the difference between ” cause of ” and reason for ” I don’t have a certain rule for them > I only use them by sense ^_^.
May 21, 2013 at 8:59 pm
Layla Zayed:
thanks a lot for your help.These small pieces of English grammer are great help to improve our English language. Thank you again.
September 16, 2013 at 7:56 pm
Thanks for the lecturing.
v/r
November 26, 2013 at 2:28 pm
Thank you a lot for this explanation
it really helps |
September 12, 2016 at 4:10 pm
The best and the shortest explanation- Thank you very much!!!!
This is it:)
September 16, 2016 at 9:45 am
thanks for teaching me that there is difference btwn most and most of.