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Ahava_yin Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary
Could nearly vs. could barely
Hi, I came across the following sentence which is kind of tricky to me.
The patient’s progress was very encouraging as he could ________ get out of the bed without help.
I think "nearly" conveys the positive meaning that the sentence needs. But it's said "nearly" can not follow "could".
How would you say? Thank you!
The patient’s progress was very encouraging as he could ________ get out of the bed without help.
I think "nearly" conveys the positive meaning that the sentence needs. But it's said "nearly" can not follow "could".
How would you say? Thank you!
Top answer
If this is a test item, maybe they wanted you to use almost instead of nearly . almost sounds better to me, but I'm not aware of any rule such as the one you mentioned. CJ
- If this is a test item, maybe they wanted you to use almost instead of nearly .
- almost sounds better to me, but I'm not aware of any rule such as the one you mentioned.
- CJ
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4 Answers
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If this is a test item, maybe they wanted you to use almost instead of nearly. almost sounds better to me, but I'm not aware of any rule such as the one you mentioned.
CJ
CJ
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Thank you CalifJim.
Yes, it is an item from a test. The four choices include, nearly, hardly, barely and merely.
So, can I say, "nearly" would be the best choice among the four, though it would not be as perfect as "almost" would be in that sentence? It's safe to say "could nearly...", isn't it?
Thank you again!
Yes, it is an item from a test. The four choices include, nearly, hardly, barely and merely.
So, can I say, "nearly" would be the best choice among the four, though it would not be as perfect as "almost" would be in that sentence? It's safe to say "could nearly...", isn't it?
Thank you again!
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ahava_yinSo, can I say, "nearly" would be the best choice among the four, though it would not be as perfect as "almost" would be in that sentence? It's safe to say "could nearly...", isn't it?Yes, that's right.
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If the patient was poorly you would use "barely" , meaning the patient was so bad that he/she almost could not get out of bed without help.
However, in this example, we are told that the patient is improving, so I think "nearly" is the best of the four. The other options are not positive enough.
However, in this example, we are told that the patient is improving, so I think "nearly" is the best of the four. The other options are not positive enough.
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