1. almost [nearly] 都可用来修饰不定代词、形容词、副词、动词、介词短语等，此时两者常可换用。如：
My car almost [nearly] stood still because of a traffic block. 我的车子因为交通阻塞而几乎动弹不得。
I lost my concentration and almost [nearly] drove into a bridge. 我走神了，驾车时几乎撞上了一座桥。
It is almost [nearly] late for you to catch the last bus. 天晚了，你快赶不上末班公共汽车了。
With so much loud music, conversation was almost [nearly] impossible. 音乐声那么大，几乎没法交谈。
We almost [nearly] came to blows over what colour our new carpet should be. 我们为了用什么颜色的新地毯险些打了起来。
要注意它们与被修饰词的位置关系。比较并体会以下正误句子：
据说这个报社平均每天要收到百来篇来稿。
正：It's said that the paper receive an average of nearly 100 articles a day.
误：It's said that the paper nearly receive an average of 100 articles a day.
另外，再比较：
Everything was almost double the normal price. 样样东西几乎都是平时价格的两倍。
Almost everything was double the normal price. 几乎样样东西都是平时价格的两倍。
2. 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。如：
He almost never remarks on how she looks. 他几乎从来不说她长相如何。
He is very practical—he can make or mend almost anything. 他很能干，几乎会制造或修理任何东西。
The plots in her books are very strong but there's almost no characterization. 她写的书情节性很强，可是几乎没有对人物的塑造。
How am I expected to conjure up a meal for six of his friends with almost nothing in the fridge? 冰箱里几乎甚么都没有，我怎么可能给他的六个朋友变出一顿饭来？
Tolerant of human frailty in whatever form, she almost never judged people. 她对人性的各种弱点都能够包容，几乎从不评价他人。
His father found him a cushy job in the office, with almost nothing to do and a whacking great salary. 他父亲给他在事务所找到了一份轻松舒适的工作，几乎什么都不用做，工资还极高。
但是，两者都可用在否定动词之前。如：
He almost [nearly] didn't catch the bus. 他差点没赶上公共汽车。
3. nearly 前可用 very, pretty, not 等词修饰，但 almost 之前不能用这些词。如：
There are not nearly enough members present to hold a meeting. 出席的会员远没有达到可以开会的人数。
The shock of Pat's death pretty nearly killed Roy. 帕特的死几乎毁了罗伊。
They very nearly succeeded in blowing up the parliament building. 他们只差一点儿炸毁议会大厦。
4. 有时 almost 可表示十分相似(但又不完全相同)，此时不用 nearly。如：
I almost wish I'd stayed at home. 我真有点后悔没在家里呆着。
Our cat understand everything—he's almost human. 我们这只猫什么都懂—— 快通人性了。
