Many and More are words that are frequently used in a sentence. Not understanding the nuances and the difference between many and most, we use them interchangeably in a sentence, rendering a wrong meaning we don’t intend to leave.
This post helps you understand how to use many and most in a sentence, what the difference between many and more is, and which one to use when.
Let’s start with understanding how the word many is used first.
MANY
The word ‘many‘ can be used as an adjective and a pronoun in a sentence. It means ‘a large/big number of something‘.
As an adjective
As an adjective, the word ‘many’ comes before a plural noun and modifies it with a non-specific quantity. Let’s study some examples to understand it better. It is called an indefinite adjective when it gives information about a noun.
Examples:
- Many colleges are still taking admissions.
- My sister Jyoti has been to many countries.
- Many members attended the club training session.
- Not many people came to your defense at the court.
- One of my many problems is that I overthink.
Notice a plural noun is being used after the adjective ‘many’. We use a plural noun after these words when they are used as an adjective.
As a pronoun
As a pronoun, the word many stands alone and is used in place of a noun. The meaning of the word remains the same as given above.
Examples:
- Many have tried, and many have failed. No one could bother me.
- My company bought more than 1000 laptops last year. Many of them are still unused.
- Many of you will be selected for the new project.
- There are about 120 thousand gyms in India. Many of them don’t have certified trainers.
MOST
The word ‘most‘ can be used as both an adjective and a pronoun in a sentence. It means ‘the majority of something or more than half of something’.
As an adjective
- Most people in this room know that you are incapable of being our leader.
- Most companies in India don’t pay their employees well.
- Most smartphones have a good camera in them.
- Most movies Robert makes are about love relationships.
As a pronoun
- Most of my friends live in Delhi.
- Most of my books sold out in the first week.
- The company bought 1000 laptops last week. Most were handed over to the staff.
- Most of the guests left before the entry of the bride.
Important points about MANY and MOST
We will, now, understand the difference between many and most in certain situations.
1. In a small group, the number of people/things that ‘many‘ and ‘most‘ refer to is almost the same. But as the group size increases, the number of people or things that these words refer to are not the same. The difference between them increases, and the word ‘most‘ refers to a larger number.
In a smaller group size
- Many people have come here just to see me.
- Most of these people have come here just to see me.
The number of people in the image is not too large. Let’s say the exact number of this group is 20. In this context, both many and most refer to a number that’s close. It could be 12, 13, or 14. But it is safe to say that there is not going to be a huge gap in the number of people they refer to in their respective sentences.
In a larger group size
Let’s, now, have a bigger group size and use the words many and most in the same context. Check out the image attached below.
- Many of these guys work in my company.
- Most of these guys work in my company.
We can clearly see that the number of people in the photo is close to 100, or let’s assume it to be 100. Now, many here would mean 25, 30, or even 40. It could also mean 50. What the speaker means is that a good number or a large number of these people work in the speaker’s company. See, the problem with the word many is that its meaning is subject to the understanding of the speaker and open to different interpretations.
What’s large or a good number to a person can’t be fixed. But for most situations, to be on the safer side, it can be taken as more than 20 percent of the entire group size.
In the second sentence, there’s more clarity in terms of the size of the group that’s referred to with the word ‘most‘. The clarity we get with most is that it definitely refers to more than 50 percent of the group size. It’s actually very close to all. In this context where the number of people on the group is 100, the speaker is definitely referring to more than 50-60 with the word ‘most‘. Being more realistic and direct, it’s going to be close to 80.
We, now, can clearly how many and most are different from each one in terms of the number they refer to in a sentence.
2. Don’t use ‘most’ when you mean ‘a large number of a plural noun’, especially when the focus is not on the majority of a group.
- Many companies have contacted me lately.
- Most companies have contacted me lately. (wrong)
- Many teams have come to play in the tournament.
- Most teams have come to play in the tournament. (wrong)
- We need many laptops for our staff.
- We need most laptops for our staff. (wrong)
The use of most would imply that the speaker is already aware of the total size of the group and is referring to the majority or a big part of it. Many times, we want to refer to a large number of something, not the majority of a group.
- Many people have come, and many have gone. No one has been able to take my place.
- Most people have come, and most have gone. No one has been able to take my place. (wrong)
3. Both MANY and MOST can function as both an adjective and a pronoun.
When they function as an adjective, they are followed by a noun and are called an indefinite adjective. They are called an indefinite pronoun when they function as a pronoun.
MANY and MOST as indefinite adjectives
- Akanksha has helped many students in her life.
- Most people don’t know how to control their minds.
- You were given opportunities many opportunities, but you let us down every time.
- I have down most roles at the club.
Notice that the words many and most function as an adjective in the sentences and are followed by a noun.
MANY and MOST as indefinite pronouns
- Many of us have come here for the first time.
- I have had most of these drinks.
- A lot of people came to see you in the morning. Some of them have left, but many are still waiting for you.
- Most of my students still call me every week.
Notice that the words many and most function as a pronoun in the sentences and are not followed by a noun. They either stand alone or are followed by a modifier in the form of a prepositional phrase.
4. We use ‘many‘ to ask about the quantity in an interrogative sentence.
To find the quantity of a noun, we use ‘many‘. It is the only indefinite adjective that’s used to find out the quantity of a noun.
Examples:
- How many phones do you have?
- How many candidates were finalized for the job?
- How many of you have your car?
- How many training sessions have you had so far?
We can’t use any other indefinite adjective here.
- How much phones do you have? ❌
- How most phones do you have? ❌
- How some phones do you have? ❌
5. ‘Many‘ refer to only a countable noun while most can sometimes also refer to uncountable nouns.
- I have many ways to do this.
- Ashish has many amazing recipes to share with us.
- We have many coders on the team.
The nouns ways, recipes, and coders are countable.
- I agree with most of your points. (points = countable)
- Most cars are fuel efficient these days. (cars = countable)
- Most of the information was handy. (information = uncountable)
6. When drawing comparisons, we use ‘most‘ as the superlative degree of ‘much‘. Also, since it refers to the highest degree of a quality, we use the definite article ‘the’ before it.
When drawing comparisons, we use ‘most‘ as the superlative degree of ‘much‘. Also, since it refers to the highest degree of a quality, we use the definite article ‘the’ before it.
- You are the most skillful person I know.
- This is the most amazing day of my life.
- She has just gone through the most difficult phase of her life.
‘Many‘ is not used to refer to a degree of a quality or to draw a comparison.
6. The use of ‘many‘ and ‘most‘ in a situation can be subject to the understanding of the speaker as to what is a majority or a larger portion to them.
- Many people like to listen to music daily.
- Most people like to listen to music daily.
Let’s say the speaker is referring to 55 or 60 percent of all the people and does not consider this number to be the majority or a portion that they should use ‘most’ with. In such a case, because of the subjective understanding of the word and the speaker here, they use ‘many’. A different speaker might look at it differently and find ‘most‘ to be a better word because of considering the percent a larger or the majority of the group.
CONCLUSION
Many refers to a large number while most refers to a larger or the largest part of the group. ‘Many’ means more than a few or some, but ‘most’ means the largest part of a group, being the majority of the group (nearly all of it).
Most people make the mistake of using many when referring to the majority of a group or category. In such contexts, use ‘most’.
- Many people work for others. (incorrect)
- Most people work for others. (correct)
- Many parents don’t want their kids to face failures. (incorrect)
- Most parents don’t want their kids to face failures. (correct)
Now, we know everything about how to use more and most, and how these words are different from each other. Feel free to share your question, doubt, or feedback in the comment section, and also, share the post with the people that need it.
For one-on-one classes, contact me at [email protected].
