ｎｅａｒｌｙ與ａｌｍｏｓｔ的用法點撥

趙會娟

1. When I came back, my wife was not ____ ready for meals.

A. almost B. nearly C. fairly D. hardly

2. He told me that ____ nothing there was worth looking into.

A. nearly B. almost C. hardly D. seldom

3. He enjoys a cup of coffee sometimes but ____ he drinks tea.

A. most B. almost C. nearly D. mostly

從以上試題中不難看出， almost, nearly象一對姊妹，常常作為一題的選項同時出現(xiàn)。因此，深知他們之間的異同對做題是有很大幫助的。

一、 相同點

almost與nearly當 “幾乎”、 “差不多”講時，兩個可以通用

1.修飾動詞時，一般放在主要動詞前面或系動詞be后面，都表示眼看就要發(fā)生而實際上并未發(fā)生的事。例如：

①Last year she was very ill and almost died.

②The newsreel had almost(nearly) finished when I went to the cinema.

③His cough was nearly, but not quite, cured.

2.在談到比較具體的事情時，如時間、空間的進展及可以衡量或比較的東西時，或與all, every, always連用時, 兩者可以換用。例如：

①Almost (Nearly) all the girls like to dance.

②Nearly all the people are here.

③The presidents of almost all the big corporations in the country are men.

注意：⑴nearly與almost當“幾乎”、“差不多”、“將近”講時都可用在行為動詞的否定式之前。例如：

①I almost/nearly didnt meet him. 我差點沒見到他。

②I almost/nearly cant answer your questions.

我?guī)缀醪荒芑卮鹉愕膯栴}。

⑵nearly是對動詞的否定，但是輕微的。例如:

①The ball struck him so hard that he nearly fell into the water.

球重重地擊在他身上，他差點掉進河里。

②There the expedition nearly ended in disaster.

在那兒，探險隊險遭滅頂之災。

⑶almost此時相當于just about but not。例如：

He was almost drowned.

3.almost與nearly修飾形容詞、副詞、名詞時可以互換。例如：

①The street was almost empty.

②When the train got in, it was nearly midnight.

③You look worn out. Youve been standing nearly all the evening.

4.nearly， almost都可與具體數(shù)字連用。例如：

I dont know he is nearly/almost 40 years old.

二、 不同點

1.almost=very nearly,指程度上相差很少, almost與no, none, nothing, never, nobody, nowhere等表示否定意義的詞連用時，可用hardly, scarcely代替，但后面不加否定詞。nearly則不可與上述詞連用。此時almost+“否定詞”相當于scarcely anything/anyone或hardly anything/anyone。例如：

①Almost no one(=Hardly anyone) believes her.

②The speaker said almost nothing(=scarcely anything) worth listening to. 那位發(fā)言人所說的話幾乎沒有一句是值得聽的。

注意：

①almost不能用作定語修飾名詞。

②almost前不能加very。例如：

They didnt buy almost any. (×)

Almost all the students(=Most students) passed the exam. (Almost students passed the exam. ×)

2.nearly可與not, nor, never連用，相當于by no means, far from，意思為“根本不，完全不，一點也不，相差很遠，遠不及，遠沒有”。例如：

①There are not nearly enough people to do the job.

②I have $20, but that isnt nearly enough for my journey. I shall need much more.

③Success, which encourages repetition of old behavior, is not nearly as good a teacher as failure.

注意：在very, pretty后只用nearly。例如：

It is very nearly dark. Lets go home.

3.almost一般用來修飾表示感情或心理狀態(tài)的動詞、形容詞或用在含有抽象的，無比較和衡量的東西的句子里，而nearly多用于數(shù)量在時間空間上接近。例如：

①I almost wish I had taken his advice then.

②What I saw was almost too good to be true.

③Its nearly one year since they married.

④I almost think what he said is right.

5.在more than, any, too之前通常用 almost，而不用 nearly。例如：

①Almost more than ten students failed in the exam.

②Almost any one can do it.

6．a(chǎn)lmost一般指純事實的敘述，而nearly則帶有一定的感情色彩。例如：

①The book cost me almost 30 yuan.

這本書差不多花了30元。（只陳述事實）

②The book cost me nearly 30 yuan.

這本書差不多花了我30元。（有嫌貴的意思）

鞏固練習:

1. He always goes to bed very late, so he ____ before 7:00 a.m.

A. almost gets up never B. gets up nearly never

C. almost never gets up D. never gets up nearly

2. He was proud that he ____ made no mistakes in the test.

A. nearly B. mostly C. hardly D. almost

3. ——Your dress is beautiful, Mary.

——Thank you. But it doesnt fit me around the waist ____ right.

A. quite B. almost C. nearly D. rather

4. ——Thats a beautiful table cloth.

——Yes, but it is not ____ long enough for this table.

A. nearly B. almost C. hardly D. mostly

5. ——Do you like those kinds of cigarettes?

——____ cigarettes agree with me.

A. Hardly no B. Nearly no C. Rarely no D. Almost no

6. We have saved some money, but its not ____ enough to buy a new house.

A. entirely B. nearly C. almost D. completely

Key:1.C 2.D 3.A 4.A 5.D 6.B