most与most of的区别在许多情况下与所修饰的名词是否带有限定词(如冠词、指示代词、物主代词、名词所有格等)有关,具体说来,应注意以下几点:
1. 若所修饰的名词前没有限定词,通常要用most,不用most of。如:
Most people agree with me. 多数人同意我的意见。
Most cheese is made from cow’s milk. 奶酪大都是用牛奶做的。
Most people work from nine to five. 大多数人从9点工作到5点。
但是,在习惯上不带冠词的专有名词(如人名和地名等)或抽象名词(如学科名词等)前,要用most of,不用most。如:
Most of George seemed to be covered with hair. 乔治身上好像大部分地方都长毛。
Most of Wales was without electricity last night. 昨天夜里,威尔士多数地区都停电了。
2. 若所修饰的名词前带有限定词,则用most of,不能只用most。如:
Most of my friends live abroad. 我的朋友大多数住在国外。
Most of the people here know each other. 这里大多数人互相认识。
He’s eaten two pizzas and most of a cold chicken. 他吃了两张比萨饼和大半只冷鸡。
Most of those workers have still been unable to find jobs. 这批工人中大多数仍未能找到工作。
注意要不按汉语思维电影,将限定词放在most之前。如:
误:My most friends live abroad.
误:The most people here know each other.
误:He’s eaten two pizzas and a most cold chicken.
误:Those most workers have still been unable to find jobs.
对于可数名词来说,如果是单数形式,不能直接在其前使用most,而应使用“most of+限定词+单数可数名词”的形式。如:
Narrative makes up most of the book. 记叙文占书的大部分。
You’ve got most of the bed as usual. 你跟往常一样占了大半张床。
The hen sits for most of the day. 这只母鸡整天大部分时间都在抱窝。
It was wet and windy for most of the week. 一周大半时间都是又下雨又刮风。
3. 若直接用在代词之前,要用most of,不用most。如:
Most of us thought he was wrong. 我们大多数人认为他错了。
Most of them probably eat too much meat. 他们大多数人都吃太多的肉了。
He has a lot of free time—he spends most of it in the garden. 他空闲时间很多——大都消磨在花园里了。
注意,在关系代词前也只能用most of,不用most。如:
The buses, most of which were already full, were surrounded by an angry crowd. 公共汽车大多数都已经挤满了人,它们被愤怒的人群包围着。
I have a number of American relatives, most of whom live in Texas. 我有一些美国亲戚,他们大都住在得克萨斯。