Analysis of More/Most

The words more and most can be analyzed as adverbs or adjectives. Monosyllabic words usually form the comparative and superlative forms with the suffixes -er and -est, but polysyllabic words usually consist of more/most and the adjective. In this case they can be analyzed as adverbs. However, the words more/most can also be adjectives with the meaning of quantity.

The two possible analyses of the words more and most can lead to ambiguity. Consider the following sentence: I want more beautiful clothes. The sentence may mean that the speaker wants a greater quantity of beautiful clothes, or it may mean that the speaker wants clothes that are more beautiful. Context is needed to disambiguate.

a) I want more beautiful clothes. These ones are nothing special.
b) I want more beautiful clothes. Double the next shipment.

With the added context, it is clear that (a) has the meaning of the comparative suffix -er such as in prettier and (b) has the meaning of greater quantity.

With monosyllabic adjectives that combine with the suffixes -er and -est, this ambiguity does not exist. Consider the following sentences:

a) I want larger clothes.
b) I want more large clothes.

In these two sentences it is very clear that (a) refers to greater size and (b) to greater quantity. With the monosyllabic adjective large, no ambiguity occurs.

Let us consider two sentences with the word most.

(a) I want to make the most expensive dresses. The ones we currently make are too cheap.
(b) I want to make the most expensive dresses. I want to be number one in sales.

Context is needed to clarify the meaning. The first sentence has the meaning of highest in price, and the second the meaning of greatest quantity.

With monosyllabic adjectives which combine with the superlative suffix -est, this ambiguity does not exist. Consider the following sentences:

a) They own the newest properties.
b) They own the most new properties.

Here no further context is needed to clarify the meaning. In (a) it is clear that the meaning refers to age, and in (b) the meaning refers to the number of properties.

A number of words can belong to more than one grammatical category. This is the case with more and most, which can be both adverbs and adjectives. Ambiguity can occur with polysyllabic adjectives which form the comparative and superlative with more and most.