Exercise 6. In the following sentences decide whether ‘most’ is a marker of the superlative form of the adjective or elative. Insert articles where necessary.

1. I realized that, although your mother is __ most impossible woman in the world, Julio loves her. (H. Fielding)

2. He had been __ most agreeable lover. (W.S. Maugham)

3. I lived at West Egg, the – well, __ less fashionable of the two, though this is __ most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

4. That’s __ most repulsive thing I’ve ever heard anyone say about a woman. (H. Fielding)

5. The smug witch smirked at Mark and blatantly looked me up and down in __ most impolite manner. (H. Fielding)

6. That’s __ most inconclusive reason for not writing that I’ve ever heard. (W.S. Maugham)

7. She’s __ most uncommonly spoiled child. (J. Webster)

8. I didn’t like Ellie. I thought her __ most unpleasant female. (W.S. Maugham)

9. Gray’s love for Isabel was a delight to see; he adored her beauty and thought her __ most brilliant, fascinating creature in the world. (W.S. Maugham)

10. __ most women set out to try to change a man, and when he has changed they don’t like him. (M. Dietrich)

11. It’s quite __ most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. (D. du Maurier)

12. At __ age when __ most girls were getting engaged or married, Anna had never been kissed by a boy. (S. Sheldon)

13. The English milord was obviously __ most masterful person. (H.E. Bates)

14. It was __ most beautiful room in the house. (D. du Maurier)

15. __ most women think of nothing but clothes. (D. du Maurier)

16. Even Gran, __ most difficult person to please in those days, adored her from __ first. (D. du Maurier)

17. Mr Charlton, who had heard nothing of this conversation, folded The Times into a quarter-page size, then suddenly pointed to a picture in it and said that that was __ most extraordinary thing. (H.E. Bates)

18. Accidents happen so easily even to __ most experienced people. (D. du Maurier)

19. Then he saw a girl coming toward him over the grass. She was __ most beautiful person he had ever seen. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

20. “That’s where __ most men manage. They take an attitude, and accept a lie.” (D.H. Lawrence)

21. I read __ most interesting book on embalming once. (G. Durrel)

22. That’s __ most obvious conclusion they could jump to. (J.H. Chase)

23. But in regard to matrimony, you are now at __ most dangerous period of your life. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

24. Amory found the slicker __ most valuable classification until his junior year in college. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

25. These two days, he said, were __ most critical of her life. (J.H. Chase)

26. Gin was __ most difficult to detect on the breath. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

27. This, also, was __ most exciting, if dangerous speculation. (J. Galsworthy)

28. If I were in your place, Lieutenant, I would think the same thing, but with the information I have, it is not sinister at all. It would appear to be __ most natural sequence of events imaginable. (J.H. Chase)

29. Dick has been regarded as __ most brilliant – more brilliant than I could ever be. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

30. He balanced his chin in his hand and his elbow on the table – __ most delicate, scarcely noticeable sleeping position, he assured himself – and went into a deep stupor… (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

31. I’ve known __ most interesting people of my time. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

32. The club itself was __ most influential of institutions, over three hundred men competing for it every year. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

33. Charlie sat in __ most comfortable chair while Blackie sat behind his desk. (J.H. Chase)

34. Rosemary saw her suddenly in a new way and found her one of __ most beautiful people she had ever known. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

35. Surely a man is __ most treacherous animal full of his treasured contradictions. (J. Steinbeck)

36. __ most unhappy aspect of their relations was Dick’s growing indifference. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

37. After a short and passionate beginning they had what can only be described as __ most vicious break-up in history. (M. Gayle)

38. It’s __ most exciting thing in the world to have an idea and watch it grow into concrete and steel, and become a building that people work in and live in. (S. Sheldon)

39. I really thought he was __ most gifted cricketer in the school. (S. Fry)

40. Your mother always was __ most superstitious woman in Christendom. (K. Saunders)

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 1136