Difference between MOST and MOST OF

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What does โ€˜mostโ€™ mean and how to use it? Letโ€™see!
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MANY/ MUCH/ A LOT โ€“ MORE โ€“ THE MOST
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When there are a lot of something (hundreds, thousands etc.), you may use MANY/ MUCH/ A LOT OF/ LOTS OF/ PLENTY OF:
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  • I havenโ€™t got many friends, only two or three.
  • I havenโ€™t got much money.
  • Iโ€™ve got a lot of friends.
  • Iโ€™ve got lots of books.
  • Weโ€™ve got plenty of time.

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MORE is the comparative formโ€“ if I have five pens and you have ten, it means you have more pens than me:
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  • Heโ€™s got more friends than me.
  • Heโ€™s got more money than me.
  • Heโ€™s got more books than me.

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THE MOST is the superlative formโ€“ when nobody else has more:
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  • Sheโ€™s got the most friends.
  • Sheโ€™s got the most money.
  • Sheโ€™s got the most books.

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MOST also means โ€˜the majorityโ€™ of something. If I have ten colleagues and eight of them are nice people, itโ€™s the majority, so I can say:
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  • I like working here, most of my colleagues are really nice.
  • Most of them are working today. (the majority of them are working today)

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Some other examples:
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  • I work at the reception most of the time. (Maybe, I work there seven or eight hours a day, but I spend a little time, 30 minutes or one hour in the back office too)
  • Most of my friends live in my neighbourhood. (the majority)
  • Most (of the) people like chocolate. (the majority)

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NOTE the article โ€˜theโ€™ is used in the superlative form (the most money), but it isnโ€™t used when โ€˜mostโ€™ means โ€˜the majorityโ€™ (most of my friends)
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