(1)almost可用于any以及no, none, nobody, nothing, never等否定词之前,但nearly一般不这样用:Almost any man can do it. 几乎任何人都会做。Almost no one came to the party. 几乎没有人来参加晚会。但是,两者都可用在否定动词之前:
He almost [nearly] didn’t catch the bus. 他差点没赶上公共汽车。
(2)nearly前可用very, pretty, not等词修饰,但almost之前不能用这些词:It’s not nearly so difficult as you think. 这远不像你想像的那么难。
1、That one mistake almost cost him his life.
那一个差错几乎使他丧命。
2、The pain was almost more than he could bear.
这种痛苦几乎使他无法忍受。
3、It's almost time to go.
是差不多该走的时候了。
1、Resistance to change has nearly destroyed the industry.
对变革的抵制几乎毁了这个行业。
2、They're nearly always late.
他们几乎总是迟到。
3、There isn't nearly enough time to get there now.
现在根本没有足够的时间赶到那儿。