Grammar Nazi's of OcUK, your help is needed. "Most vs. Almost".

I've heard 'most' used like that a few times... I think it's just a shortened version of almost.

Almost is the correct way though.
 
Zefan said:
You see that to me says "I am very tired, I am very hungry." It's like when you say "most definitely", it doesn't mean "maybe" it means "VERY DEFINITELY".

Words. Life. Fact.
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That's what I was meant to be saying, if it wasn't clear :o
 
Indeed, although it could have been read that out of all of a certain set you were the most hungry. I would deny that furiously as I'm still cooking my dinner and I ate lunch at noon.
 
'Most every switch....' isn't right.

If he's referring to the majority then it should be:
"Most of the switches, dials and buttons...."

Where as, "Almost every switch, dial and button in the...." would mean nearly every switch.

The use of almost or most depend on what you are trying to say. In this case however, no matter what he is trying to say he has used the word 'most' wrong.

To be fair to the American:
A) Their grasp of the English language isn't great anyway...
B) I believe this is a common Americanism. I may be wrong, but it's not an uncommon phrase. It just isn't grammatically correct...

kd
 
Zefan said:
STOP IT. STOP IT IMMEDIATELY.

:edit: Oh you ninja editer you...
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I actually edited it before you posted. No really I did.

It appears that I'm going to have to put up with this, "Americanism" then. I know it's wrong, every educated adult in Britain knows it's wrong, but alas there is no evidence I can show to prove it. I have Googled this extensively by the way, but for every web page that indicates I'm correct there is another (normally American) site that says it either doesn't matter or that I'm wrong.

Ah bugger it, life's too short to worry this much about something this trivial.
 
You're almost correct, KD. However if it's a common Americanism then unless you deem their *******isation of the language to be wrong then it isn't wrong. Although it certainly does feel wrong to English speakers rather than American English speakers.
 
Try to flip it round on him, can you get him to show how 'almost every' would be wrong? In 'most definitely' it's an abbreviation of almost, while 'most tired' and such are using it in a different way to quantify that you are very tired.

It could pass if it's purely for American-English audience; but for international English it's incorrect.
 
King Damager said:
'Most every switch....' isn't right.

If he's referring to the majority then it should be:
"Most of the switches, dials and buttons...."

Where as, "Almost every switch, dial and button in the...." would mean nearly every switch.

The use of almost or most depend on what you are trying to say. In this case however, no matter what he is trying to say he has used the word 'most' wrong.

To be fair to the American:
A) Their grasp of the English language isn't great anyway...
B) I believe this is a common Americanism. I may be wrong, but it's not an uncommon phrase. It just isn't grammatically correct...

kd
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It does depend on the level of formality being used in the example.....in informal usage, given that the orator is American and considering the relevant accepted colloquialisms therein, the sentence (given that we only have a fragment) would be acceptable and therefore correct.

However that doesn't mean that the sentence cannot be structured better or that it is correct in formal standard English......
 
Eddie182 said:
Yeah that's my point really, international English should be used in this context (software sold internationally).
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There is no such thing as International English as a set of accepted grammatical rules, it is a concept that pushes for a certain standardisation of English, it would in fact support the American anyway.

The only argument you have is in the formality of the context being used....from his point of view and given the rules of American English and the informal use of the terminology his sentence is acceptable albeit rather poorly structured.

The duality of International English allows the writer to use the grammar, spelling and structures relevant to the standard conventions of his dialect of English known as the individual approach, and if we use the inclusive approach, that favours American English to some extent so that doesn't help either.

The point being that neither the OP or the American are incorrect per se......as each simply has different conventions depending on their respective dialects.
 
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International English is the standard for English taught in other (non-English speaking) countries which is to the standard of Cambridge/Oxford dictionary definition is it not? Definition does state 'most every' but as a mainly US informal word.

*Edit* Having a google, I agree with your point Castiel about standards, but it's similar to basic English and using an informal mainly US based term wouldn't fall in to the category of basic English.
 
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