In some kinds of sentences, the meaning of the English word almost
is similar to that of the Japanese word ô®–‚, e.g., when it is
used to modify some kinds of adjectives (e.g., almost ready) or
adverbs (almost completely).
But with nouns, verbs, and some kinds of adjectives, the meaning of
almost is somewhat different from ô®–‚ . It's often used to
describe something that is not actually true or did not actually happen,
in spite of someone's previous plans or intentions. Here are three
examples:
- This is almost a good cookie. ( But in fact, there's too much sugar
in it so it's not really very good.)
- I almost went to France during the vacation. (I planned to go, but
then I didn't.)
- He almost hit a home run. (The ball went out of the stadium, but it
was just over the foul line.)
In the examples below, the writer is trying to use almost to mean ô®–
‚, but it doesn't work. In order to get the correct meaning,
almost must be combined with a quantity word or adverb such as
all , always, or entirely.
- Almost Japanese people tell their opinions at the end and give
supporting evidence first.
This sentence appears to be about people who are almost Japanese but
really are not (maybe people born in Japan who aren't Japanese
citizens), but what the writer probably wants to say is something like
this:
- Almost all Japanese people tell their opinions at the end and give
supporting evidence first.
- Most Japanese people tell their opinions at the end and give
supporting evidence first.
But maybe the writer really means this:
- Japanese people almost always tell their opinions at the end and
give supporting evidence first.
In the next example, it sounds like the writer is saying that she
planned to study during the while vacation, but in fact did not.
- I almost studied during the summer vacation.
Sometimes people write this kind of sentence when what they really mean
to say is something quite different:
- I studied during almost all of the summer vacation.
- I studied through most of the summer vacation.