Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: the most

"All students got high marks in the test but Mary got the most marks of 
all."
Shouldn't it be "[...] got the highest marks of all"?
Kiuhnm

 Shouldn't it be "[...] got the highest marks of all"?
If Mary performed better on the test than anyone, then it should read "but 
Mary got the highest mark of all." I'm not sure why the plural was used in 
the example. If there is a good reason for the plural, and somehow the 
number of high marks that Mary received was greater, then that meaning is 
not presented well in the example sentence. It should read something like 
"All students got high marks in the test, but Mary received the greatest 
number of high marks ('cause the test had a hell of a lot of marks on it). 

 number of high marks ('cause the test had a hell of a lot of marks on it). 
Here you can find the complete exercise (question n. 2):
http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ee001/esl-test.php
And here's the authors' explanation, but I'm not very convinced:
http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic1015.html#meaning_of_standing_out
Kiuhnm


You're right to not be convinced. The authors have a little comprehension 
problem. Level is not the same as Quantity. None of the provided answers to 
the problem are satisfactory. None of the explanations for the correctness 
of the answer are valid. 


Plan your time. And start with the section that’s worth THE MOST MARKS.
But you’ll also need to make sure that you’ve done the right kind of
preparation for the exam. And that means learning to read in the way 
that these exams demand. Language teacher, Margaret John.
and many many others...
The Collins Dictionary reads:
"A mark is a point that is given for a correct answer or for doing 
something well in an exam or competition. A mark can also be a written 
symbol such as a letter that indicates how good a student's or 
competitor's work or performance is.
I believe this solves the matter. It's just a Britishism.
Kiuhnm

 I believe this solves the matter. It's just a Britishism.
Yes, it appears to be a Britishism. In the US, the word "points" would be
used. But that still doesn't excuse the author from confusing "high" and
"most." If "marks" is to be substituted for "points" then the author should
write "got many marks" or "got high mark totals". This is especially true
because the British also recognize the definition of "marks" as "grades".
Saying "got high marks" encourages an interpretation of level or grade, not
number. In my opinion, the author falls into the deepest communication
pitfall -- ambiguity of meaning -- and that is out-of-place in a test
designed for English language learners.
"All students got many marks, but Mary got the most marks of all."
"All students got high mark totals, but Mary got the most/(highest total)
marks of all."
Although I wouldn't consider it a good sentence, you could say this:
"All students got high points in the test but Mary got the most/highest 
points of all."
In this case "high point totals" is implied, and although the sentence is
technically inaccurate, it's acceptable in speech. However, there is no
alternate meaning for "points" to confuse the communication as there is with
"marks". Notice that the examples that you provided all use "most marks"
rather than "high marks".