We usealmostandnearlyto refer to the progress of things, especially if we are measuring and counting things. In these examples,almostandnearlycan both be used:
[someone has been running five miles on a running machine in a gym]
Don’t give up! You’realmostthere.
It’s time for bed. It’snearly10 o’clock.
Their CD has soldalmost90,000 copies in the last week.
Nearlyall my friends were in the photograph.
We also usealmostandnearlywith extreme adjectivessuch asperfect,impossibleorfrozen:
That guy isalmostimpossible.
The chicken is stillnearlyfrozen. I thought you’d taken it out of the freezer.
We usealmost(but notnearly) to soften statements:
Ialmostwish I hadn’t offered to pay his fine.
We usealmostbeforeanyand before negative words such asno,none,never,nobody,nothing. We don’t usenearlyin this way:
[describing computer software which traces the history of towns]
Using this special software, you can find the history ofalmost anybuilding.
They’vealmost noconfidence that they can use the new phone properly.
Shealmost neverraises her voice.
Not:She nearly never raises her voice.