Most or the most money

Question

Hi. Do they have the same meaning? Thank you in advance for your help.1. He has most money.2. He has the most money.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Only sentence 2 is correct.

CJ

Tripbeetle · Answer

They have very different meanings.

1. He has most money.

"most money," when unmodified by "the," takes on the very broad meaning of "most of the money in existence." For example:
Windows is installed on most computers.
Language can describe most things.
Fertilizer is used on most farms.
In these sentences, too, "computers," "things" and "farms" refers to ALL computers, ALL things and ALL farms in existence (well, at least, on earth!).

If he has "most money," then he is a mega-trillionaire!

2. He has the most money.

This sentence forces the reader to ask the question "More money than who?" It needs a specific context and, as we all know, "the" is the word used to denote a specific instance. "The" makes "most" a superlative; it narrows the scope of "most" by making it comparative.

To provide the full meaning of the No.2 sentence, you would have to rewrite it as: "He has the most money of anyone," or "He has the most money of anyone in his town." or "He has the most money of anyone in his family." Although "the most" is used in all three sentences, the amounts of money being referred to in each sentence are probably very different indeed, and almost certainly a tiny fraction of "most money."

In other words "the most" is relative, and "most" is absolute.

Anonymous · Answer

Remember this rule. Whenever you use "most', the article "the" is often used in front of it. She is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen,

Most or the most money

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