I'd like to know if there is something I should know about when making a decision to use/not to use the article with most when it modifies the verb. For example,
My main passion are the horses that's what I love the most about the sport.
Each of us has to find what we love most about our profession.
It's having your family and your friends alive, and that's what matters the most.
Put yourself in your partner's shoes to gain perspective on what matters most.
Is this again one of those cases of personal preference, or is there a better explanation?
I read on another forum that when love most is followed by about, the is often ommitted and, from my research, it really seems to be the case. So does it depend on what words go next?
I thought it was the case with formality/informality as the Oxford Learner's Dictionary states, but it doesn't sound very convincing to me. Also, both the Corpus of Contemporary American English and google books give more results for "love most/matter most" versus "love the most/matter the most".