word usage How to use “best ever” English Language Learners Stack Exchange

So, the version without the "the" carries both meanings (or sets of meanings). Alternatively, it could mean that she walks more gracefully than she performs other activities – this is unusual, but would be clear from the context. These mean the same, although both of them have a range of meanings.

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It may be confusing because sometimes, "experienced" is also used as an adjective (meaning expert) (link). A question word can function as subject, object, complement or adverbial. In that context, the phrase the best can also be used as if it were an adverb.

The adjective best is used in a copular construction with the dummy pronoun it. Here, we have the adjective best, but this adjective is attached to no noun. The word "best" is an adjective, and adjectives do not take articles by themselves. On the linked page, best is used as an adverb, modifying the verb knew. However, "You’re the best!" as a complete sentence can also be an expression of gratitude, meaning "You’re awesome!" – whereas "You’re best" rarely if ever has this meaning. If the statement was made in the context of a particular discussion (for example, about tennis), the two would have the same meaning (and the same range of meanings that we saw in the previous examples).

Answer 1

This makes the singular word "one" completely out of the question. A couple examples of how to construct the sentence would be "Honda and Toyota are two of the best selling car makers in the US." or "Honda and Toyota are each one of the best selling car makers in the US." I realize i could put "two" or "some" instead but wouldn’t the meaning change slightly?

• Implies that to stay here is better than anything else, and no other suggestion would be better than it.
• The issue is I thought that with the superlative form of an adverb we should use the article "the" ("the most" or "the best", e.g.).
• Is the use of "one" correct in the above sentence since the subject is plural (Honda and Toyota)?
• To answer your first question, yes, both sentences are correct.

Answers 2

However, sometimes grammar demands one or the other. In many sentences it will not matter if "best" or "the best" is used. Either is acceptable, and the practical meaning is the same, but their referents, implicit not explicit, are different. In an answer on englishforums.com it says that both are exactly the same.

They are both superlatives, as they are a progression of state from one another. Implies that to stay here is better than anything else, and no other suggestion would be better than it. But may not be as good as another suggestion, for example, staying at a Find MS Interactive Blog friend’s house.

Answers 4

Is it wrong to say that we can use or omit "the" before "best" with an adverb without any change of meaning, but when we use "most" with an adverb, the meaning of the sentence changes? As you said, the subject of the sentence is plural, and the verb "are", reflects this (as apposed to "is"). Is the use of "one" correct in the above sentence since the subject is plural (Honda and Toyota)?

Your original is correct as-is, except you need to remove the question mark at the end because it’s not a question. My question is, what is the correct way to write this clause? I am not clear on the last bit of the sentence, "which one is the best". Which is correct, "I like you the best" or "I like you best"? This is correct even if Mr. Smith is still working as a teacher, as long as the speaker’s relationship to Mr. Smith has changed. In the context of a person, use "is" if the person is still in the role/relationship you are talking about, and "was" if they’re not in that role/relationship anymore.

I experience, I am experiencing, I have experienced it, I have experienced it best. In each of these cases, "best" is modifying (acting on) the closest verb. There are a couple of ways you can rephrase the example that might make it easier to understand. So "best experienced" means the best way to experience something.

No, technically the use of "one" is incorrect, yet such a phrase is common in most American English speech. In your example "experienced" is the verb that is receiving best. Best here is used as an adverb as it provides the description of the experience of watching sport (verb) "at the place where the match is unfolding.".

Answers 4

"It was the best ever" means either it was the best up to that point in time, and a better one may have happened since then, or it includes up to the present. So, "It is the best ever" means it’s the best of all time, up to the present. When used in the past, it may include the present, or it may only include the time up to that point in the past. What is the meaning of ‘It was the best ever? We use articles like the and a before nouns, like car. Assuming that the passage in the question is about the thinking of someone who is faced with choosing a course of action to take, not evaluating the outcome of an action already taken, I would use best as an adjective.