Thread: very/most interesting

is there any difference between these?
"It's very interesting!"
"It's most interesting!"

is "most" stronger than very?

I think they're basically equivalent, but to my ears, "very" sounds American and "most" British. I'm sure I'll be accosted by some Brit for saying that.

I second Barmbie's post. They are virtually identical in meaning.

They are pretty much identical in meaning but I'd say "most" sounds a little bit more pompous and is less widely used.

Originally Posted by basurero

"most" sounds a little bit more pompous and is less widely used.

That's how it sounds to me too. Maybe not always pompous, but certainly un-colloquial. It would sound out of place in casual speech, you'd get a feeling that the speaker is trying to be dramatic or eloquent or something like that. On the other hand, in a piece of literary writing or in a magazine article, something like "I have noticed a most interesting thing" may sound absolutely natural, depending on the author's general style.

thanks a bunch
so, to conclude:
it's better to use "most" than "very" in essays, but in everyday speech, I should go for "very", righty?

Originally Posted by kamka

thanks a bunch
so, to conclude:
it's better to use "most" than "very" in essays, but in everyday speech, I should go for "very", righty?

The golden rule is, if you are not sure, choose a simpler or a stylisically neutral version .

Originally Posted by kamka

thanks a bunch
so, to conclude:
it's better to use "most" than "very" in essays, but in everyday speech, I should go for "very", righty?

No. I'd suggest very in any instance.

Originally Posted by kamka

thanks a bunch
so, to conclude:
it's better to use "most" than "very" in essays, but in everyday speech, I should go for "very", righty?

It depends on the style of the essay. I can easily see it being used in some kind of opinionated piece to add a certain flavour (though what flavour I can't explain), in fact, I would probably use it myself in such a situation.

The word "most" means the best of something.

That's the most I've seen out of you!
I want that the "most"!

It can also sometimes be replaced by the word "best" depending on the sentence you use.For example:

Thats the "best" I've seen out of you!
I like that the "best!"

The other word means a little less best than total best.Do you understand???