Englishfor English speakers
the
Determiner
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Used, instead of a, to reference something specific, already known to exist.
Compare "I read a book." and "I read the book."
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Used with a stress, to show that the word following is special.
Are you the John Smith that I went to school with?
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Used with an adjective that acts like a noun to mean all of the people concerned
The poor are always with us.
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Used with superlatives forms of adjectives and adverbs.
You are the best.
most
Determiner
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The majority of; much of; > 50%.
She does the most cleaning, but the least cooking.
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The largest amount of.
Bob knows the most about cooking.
most
Adverb
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Having the largest amount of a characteristic in a group.
You must ask yourself what is most important.
Tony is the most successful.
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To a large degree; very.
That is most unusual.
popular
Adjective
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If something is popular many people like, love, or enjoy it.
Beth is one of the popular girls in my class.
Hamburgers are more popular than hot dogs with teenagers.
Kyle is the most popular boy in the senior class.