hardly,amostly,nearly这类表示"将近,几乎"的词有什么区别,并举例．

hardly,amostly,nearly这类表示"将近,几乎"的词有什么区别,并举例．
hardly,amostly,nearly这类表示"将近,几乎"的词有什么区别,并举例．

hardly,amostly,nearly这类表示"将近,几乎"的词有什么区别,并举例．
almost(nearly but not quite)和nearly (almost,but not completely or exactly)都意为：“几乎,差不多”,是常用的同(近)义词.在很多情况下,在作程度副词(adverbs of degree)修饰动词、形容词、副词、数词和名词(短语)时,两者通常可以换用.如：1) She fell and almost (nearly) broke her neck.2) I nearly (almost) missed the train.3) It was almost (nearly) dark.4) Frozen vegetables are nearly (almost) always cheaper than fresh ones.5) I am almost (nearly) twenty-one years old.6) It’s almost (nearly) time to start.7) We had been waiting almost (nearly) the whole morning but there was still no sign of him.尤其是在表达几乎、接近(到达、感到满足)的时候,如：8) We had almost (nearly) reached our destination.9) The man is almost (nearly) 90 years old.
此外,两者都可以修饰不定代词,all,every 和everybody.如：10) Almost (Nearly) all of my friends came to the party.11) Now let me try to explain how and why these things have come to pass in almost (nearly) every civilized country.
然而,almost和nearly两者并不完全同义,用法也不尽相同.首先,almost语气较重,它所表示的接近程度大于nearly,因此很多权威词典都将它释义为very nearly but not completely,请比较两个颇为有趣的例子：12)A book that is almost completed is nearer its completion than one that is nearly completed.13)It’s almost lunch time(若12点是午饭时间则可能是11点57分)It’s nearly lunch time.(可能是11点45分)其次,在使用频率上,almost 高于nearly,即almost 更为普通、多用,尤其是在口语中；almost 多用于美国英语,而nearly 则多用英国英语.前者侧重于“短缺,差一点儿,不足”,而后者nearly 则表示“接近”.如：14)They had almost finished when they were interrupted.15) They are nearly at the end of their journey.还有,在nearly的前面可以用very,pretty和not来修饰,而almost则不可能.如：16) I very nearly did forget.17) We pretty nearly missed the train.再有,在否定词no,none,never,nobody,no one,nothing,nowhere等之前可以用almost,但不可用nearly.如：18)There was almost no snow that winter.19)Almost no one (Hardly anyone)believed him.20) She said almost nothing worth hearing.
顺便提一下,由于any常用于否定结构,所以它也可与almost连用.如：21)Almost any bus will do.但应注意,almost不可后接not,如不可说：I am almost not prepared.(但可以说almost impossible,almost unprepared等)上述只有almost 可后接否定词的原因是否定词不能给予具体的衡量或比较；由于同样的原因,在一些内含感情或心态(feeling or state of mind)的场合,一般也只可用almost,相当于汉语的“简直”.如：22)I almost wish I had taken his advice.23)You could almost imagine you were in Switzerland.24)It almost seems (looks) that something is wrong with the TV set.
在当代英语中,almost 有时并不强调其but not completedly or exactly(但不完全或确切是)的含义,而多少有点肯定的成分,相当于virtually或practically(可以说是).如：25)The holidays are almost over.26)I believe you’re almost honest.
还应该记住,通常不说not almost,但可说not nearly ,其意不是“不近于,不近乎”,而是意为“远远不(够),一点也不”(not at all),而且已经是成语型的固定用法了.如：27)It is not nearly so expensive as I thought.28)I have ￡20,but that is not nearly enough for my (journey)fare.
最后,在当代英语中有将almost作形容词用的倾向,而nearly作形容词用却比较少见(有例外情况).如:29)Mazo had innocent brown eyes and baby cheeks and an almost sweetness about him...30)At nearly Christmas the foliage was as brilliant as when the outrage was committed.