Question
Actualizado en
6 oct 2021
- Francés (Francia)
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Inglés (US)
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Español (España)
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Inglés (UK)
Pregunta de Inglés (US)
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre mainly y mostly ?Puedes dar oraciones como ejemplo.
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre mainly y mostly ?Puedes dar oraciones como ejemplo.
Respuestas
6 oct 2021
Respuesta destacada
- Inglés (US)
In most cases you can use one or the other and it would be ok, but technically they are a little different.
Mostly refers more to numbers of things; “I have a lot of pets, mostly dogs”. If I read a text that said “I have a lot of pets, mainly dogs,” I would probably think that a child wrote it; not because it sounds really unnatural or doesn’t make sense, but just because it sounds a little unintelligent. If you did say “mainly dogs” though, most people probably wouldn’t really notice.
Mainly is used when numbers don’t really matter, it’s more about what is usual, you can’t really count it. If we were driving and you asked me, “What road do you take to work?” It would sound a tiny bit weird if I said “Mostly this road” and it would sound better if I said “Mainly this road”. I can’t really count in this situation, I don’t count how many times I do something (like take the road) I just talk about what is normal.
If you used mainly or mostly in any of the examples above, it wouldn’t matter. 99% of English speakers don’t know the difference and will use mainly or mostly completely the same way, so any way you use it will be fine.
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- Inglés (US)
In most cases you can use one or the other and it would be ok, but technically they are a little different.
Mostly refers more to numbers of things; “I have a lot of pets, mostly dogs”. If I read a text that said “I have a lot of pets, mainly dogs,” I would probably think that a child wrote it; not because it sounds really unnatural or doesn’t make sense, but just because it sounds a little unintelligent. If you did say “mainly dogs” though, most people probably wouldn’t really notice.
Mainly is used when numbers don’t really matter, it’s more about what is usual, you can’t really count it. If we were driving and you asked me, “What road do you take to work?” It would sound a tiny bit weird if I said “Mostly this road” and it would sound better if I said “Mainly this road”. I can’t really count in this situation, I don’t count how many times I do something (like take the road) I just talk about what is normal.
If you used mainly or mostly in any of the examples above, it wouldn’t matter. 99% of English speakers don’t know the difference and will use mainly or mostly completely the same way, so any way you use it will be fine.
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- Francés (Francia)
Hello, thank you very much for you detailed answer, it really helps me, I’m going to save it to be sure to remember next time !! 😊
- Inglés (US)
Mon français n’est pas génial mais si tu ne peux pas comprendre ma réponse en anglais, « mostly » et « mainly » sont près de la même chose. On utilise « Mostly » quand il y a des nombreux des choses, et « mainly » quand on parle des choses habituelles. Les différences sont très petites, donc tu peux utiliser « mainly » ou « mostly » dans la même manière. La plupart des anglophones (ou au moins les personnes qui je connais dans les États Unis ) ne savent pas le difference entre « mostly » et « mainly », donc n’est pas très important, tu ne devrais pas t’inquiéter pour ça.
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- Inglés (US)
Oh perfect you do speak English lmao. No worries!
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- Francés (Francia)
Oh thank for your french answer, it’s perfect !! 🥺
- Francés (Francia)
- Inglés (US)
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