Almost and nearly

 What is almost? What is nearly? 

Almost and nearly are adverbs of degree with the same meaning.

Almost is more common that nearly. For example:
1. This bottle is almost full.
2. This bottle is nearly full.

3. This bottle is almost empty.
4. This bottle is nearly empty.

Almost and nearly can go before adjectives, adverbs, and quantity words. For example:
1. This motorcycle is almost new.
2. He sings almost perfectly.
3. We graduated nearly ten years ago.

When almost and nearly modify a verb, we place them in middle position, before the main verb. For example:
1. The students were late, and nearly missed the train.
2. Sam has a bad cold. He's almost lost his voice.

When there is a negative auxiliary, almost or nearly must go before it. For example:
When I heard the tickets were $30 each, I almost didn't go to the theatre.

Almost and nearly can't always be used in the same place. We generally use almost, not nearly, in front of like. For example:
It was almost nearly like a dream.

I hope this article helps. If you have any question, please leave a comment below.