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Old Eladio Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

best vs the best

0Hi, could you tell me please, the difference between these two sentences:02br
02br
00Are parents best teachers?02br
02br
00Are parents the best teachers?02br
02br
00Thank you in advance.02br
02br
00Eladio0-
  

Top answer

02font 02br 02br 01font 00Are parents the best teachers? "0-

— BarbaraPA

  • 02font 02br 02br 01font 00Are parents the best teachers?
  • "0-
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5 Answers
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1font00Are parents best teachers?02font02br
02br
01font00Are parents the best teachers? 02font02br
02br
00You need the "the."02br
02br
00When you use the superlative (best, least, happiest, worst, etc.) you generally will need to use "the."0-
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Grammar Geek12cite11font10Are parents best teachers?12font12br
12br
11font10Are parents the best teachers? 12font12br
12br
10You need the "the."12br
12br
10When you use the superlative (best, least
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0 But what about:02br
02br
00"You had best surrender" <- incorrect?02br
00"I think it's best if you go apologize to him right now" <- incorrect?02br
00"Japanese cars work best for me" <- incorrect?0-
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Ocelot12cite10But what about:12br
12br
10"You had best surrender" <- incorrect? 11font10Yes, it should be: 11i10You had 11b10better12b10 surrender12i12font10.12br
10"I think it's best if you go apologize to h
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About 'best' versus 'the best'
'Best' is either an adjective or an adverb.
As an adverb, 'best' modifies the verb of the sentence:
"He builds models best." (No one does the act of building better than he does.)
As an adjective 'best' modifies a noun:
He builds the best models in our town. (No models are better than his models.)
'The' in the sentence is the article for mode
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