Almost

Learn about using “almost” and find a link to a quiz below.

Two ways to understand “Almost”

• It can mean nearly, not quite, not completely.
• It gives the meaning of close to the extreme.

“Almost” can be used with:

• every, all or no, none.
  • Almost every nation is represented in the United Nations.
  • Almost all the cookies are gone.
  • There is almost no one left at the party.
  • There were 1,000 cards in the assortment, but now there are almost none left.
• But it doesn’t work with some, a number of, several, many, few, etc.

It can be used with:

• everyone everything everywhere or no one, nobody, nothing, nowhere.
  • Almost everyone likes Mike.
  • I cleaned up almost everything. May I take a break?
  • Almost everywhere I go someone knows me.
  • I saw almost no one I recognized. (This means I saw a number of people, but none that I knew.)
  • I tried to give out free samples, but almost nobody wanted them.
  • There is almost nothing I can do about the problem now. We just have to wait and see what happens.
  • There is almost nowhere I can site to get away from all this noise.

“Almost” can be used with:

• time and quantity.
  • It is almost 10:00.
  • I have almost $100.
  • There are almost 50 people signed up for the event.

Placement in a Sentence

When “almost” modifies a verb, it goes before the verb.

• She has almost finished getting dressed.
• I almost said that I was wrong. (I didn’t say it.)
• We have almost arrived home.
• I almost have enough money to buy the dress I want.

When it modifies “to be” it goes after the verb.

• He is almost 16 years old.
• We are almost there.

“Almost” can modify an adjective and goes before the adjective.

• I have studied hard, and I am almost ready to take the test.
• There is so much blue in that maroon paint that it is almost purple.
• We were almost sure we had seen that movie before.

Quiz yourself here.

Synonyms:

Nearly                                 I’m nearly finished.

Just about                          I’m just about finished.

Practically                          I’m practically finished.

Virtually                              I’m virtually finished.

All/everything but            I’ve finished it all but the very end of it. (non-count)

                                             I’ve finished everything but the very last bits. (count)

As good as                         I’m as good as finished.

Close to                              I’m close to finishing.

Not quite                            I’m not quite finished.

Not far from                      I’m not far from finishing.