We can use "almost" not "all most" in this sentence.
When I tried to get a train ticket, ( ) the seats were already taken.
"all most" is grammatical? and if not, why isn't it grammatical?
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"all most" is not correct at all, "all of most" you mean?– Lê Gia LễCommented Dec 19, 2017 at 1:29
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1 Answer
"All" and "most" are two different words that can be used individually to represent quantity/extent, they cannot be combined.
"Almost" is a different word that is used as a modifier to "all", to indicate that its not affecting 100% but a large majority.
So, you could say:
When I tried to get a train ticket, all the seats were already taken.
i.e. There were no seats available at all.
When I tried to get a train ticket, most of the seats were already taken.
i.e. There were just a few seats available.
When I tried to get a train ticket, almost all the seats were already taken.
i.e. Similar as above, there were a few seats available.
In general use, it would be the following order that tends to be used:
- All (indicating 100%)
- Almost all (not quite 100% but nearly there)
- Most (a large majority)
- Many (a majority, though closer to 50%)
- Some
- Few (a few steps above 0%)
- Almost none
- None (indicating 0%)
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1A very clear and nicely organized answer. I will use it with a student I am volunteering with. Commented Dec 19, 2017 at 2:13
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1It's not quite true that "all" and "most" can't be combined - though they can't be combined in that order. In colloquial AmE, "most all" is another way of saying "almost all". (Halfway down the page at merriam-webster.com/dictionary/most , there's a definition of "most" as meaning "almost".) This isn't possible in British English, of course. Btw, I wouldn't necessarily agree that "many" means a majority (it may mean a substantial number but less than half) or that "most" means a large majority (often it does, but it sometimes means a simple majority).– rjpondCommented Dec 19, 2017 at 19:26