What's the difference between most, most of, and almost?
Which one should I use in the following sentence?
Most students passed the test.
or
Most of students passed the test.
or
Almost students passed the test.
Learn English – What’s the difference between ‘most’, ‘most of’, and ‘almost’
word-usage
Best Answer
It depends on the context.
Use most to refer to a quantity of an unspecific group. We use most when we are speaking in general and do not have a specific group of people or things in mind.
Most students pass the test. (Speaking generally about an undefined population)
Use most of the X to refer to a quantity of a specific group. Note the expression includes a phrase defining the number to a specific group.
Most of the students (of my class/school etc.) passed the test. (Speaking about a specific sample of the population)
Ref: http://www.grammar-quizzes.com
Almost can be used with expressions of time and quantity. In other words you have to define the quantity.
Almost half of the students passed the test.