Making Generalizations

1 .Ways of saying that something is true about most people or things 2 .To say that something is true about most people or things

1 .Ways of saying that something is true about most people or things

most determiner, pron used when saying that something is true about the majority of

people or things in a group, or about the majority of something:

•Most people would agree that the law needs changing.

•In most cases the patient makes a full recovery. (=most patients recover completely)

•Most of (=most people or things in a group) the class are women.

•Most of the research supports this point of view.

•The students speak English most of the time when they are at school.

mostly / mainly / largely adverb used when saying that something is true about most of a group of people or things, or about most of something:

•The people who use the service are mostly businessmen.

•The cars are mostly for export.

•Apart from the Nile valley, Egypt is mostly desert.

•The audience were mainly young people in their teens.

•The disease mainly affects women.

•Their attempts were largely unsuccessful.

•Half of the country's people faced starvation, largely as a result of the civil war.

STUDY NOTE: Grammar

Largely sounds more formal than mostly or mainly, and is used especially in written English.

predominantly adverb used when saying that most people or things in a group are of

a particular type:

•Engineering has traditionally been a predominantly male profession. (=most engineers are men)

•At that time England was a predominantly agricultural society.

•The condition predominantly affects middle-aged women.

almost all / nearly all / virtually all adverb used when you want to emphasize

that there are very few exceptions:

• Unemployment rates went up in almost all European countries.

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•The study found that in almost all cases people were satisfied with the service they received.

•The country has to import almost all of its oil.

•Nearly all the children interviewed said that they are worried about what will happen in the future.

•Magnesium is found in virtually all foods.

STUDY NOTE: Grammar

Don't say 'the most people/things', when you mean 'most people/things'. For example, don't say 'The most people live in towns', when you mean: Most people live in towns.

the majority noun [singular] more than half of a group of the people or things in a

large group:

•The majority of crimes are never reported to the police.

•The vast majority of Algerians are Muslim. (=almost all Algerians are Muslim)

STUDY NOTE: Grammar

The majority of is usually followed by a countable noun in the plural, but sometimes it can be followed by an uncountable noun which refers to a group of things or people: Can the president order a military operation in another country if the majority of the legislature opposes the action?

in general used when saying that something is true about most of a group of people or

things:

•Men, in general, are just as good at looking after children as women.

•In general, teenagers from poor families are less likely to go to university.

•In general, smaller firms are more flexible.

generally adverb used when saying that something is true about most of a group of people or things. Generally is also used when saying that most people have a particular opinion:

•Generally, part-time workers receive lower wages than full-time workers.

•People generally are living longer.

•Newton is generally regarded as the father of modern science.

•It is now generally accepted that even the smallest dose of radiation carries a health risk.

generally speaking / broadly speaking / as a rule used when making

general statements about what usually happens or is usually true:

•Generally speaking, female workers are less likely to strike.

•People in the US are, generally speaking, not very well informed about international politics.

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•As a rule, snakes have simple teeth, all roughly the same shape.

•The surface of Mercury, broadly speaking, can be divided into two types of land area.

for the most part used when saying that something is true in most cases, but not in

every case:

•These problems have, for the most part, been resolved.

•For the most part, local people welcomed the plan.

by and large / in the main / on the whole used when saying that something is

true in most ways, or in most cases:

•The scheme was by and large a success.

•On the whole, the system worked well.

•The people on the whole were very friendly.

•The pictures are, in the main, portraits.

2. To say that something is true about most people or things

generalize verb [intransitive] to make a general statement, in which you say that something is true about most people or things:

•It is clearly a mistake to generalize from only a few examples.

•It is difficult to generalize about the American police, because there are over 40,000 police departments in the US.

generalization noun [countable] a statement in which you say that something is true

about most people or things:

•Social scientists try to make generalizations about society, based on the best available evidence.

•A lot of misleading generalizations have been made about the differences between

men and women.

•English people love animals. As a broad generalization, there is much truth in this statement. (=a generalization which has many exceptions, but which gives you a general idea about a group of people or things)

•When people say things like "the theatre is for everyone", this seems rather a sweeping generalization. (=a statement that seems exaggerated and likely to be wrong)

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