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PamQueue Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Near(ly) Performance
"a nearly perfect performance"
"a near-perfect performance"
Dictionaries don't seem to distinguish between "near" and "nearly". Could I be wrong?
"a near-perfect performance"
Dictionaries don't seem to distinguish between "near" and "nearly". Could I be wrong?
Top answer
Merriam-Webster gives 'nearly' as one of the definitiions of 'near', so there are cases where the two are virtually equivalent. The example given in that dictionary does not hyphenate as you have done, however: The plant was near dead when I got it. So you need "a near perfect performance" for your second phrase.
- Merriam-Webster gives 'nearly' as one of the definitiions of 'near', so there are cases where the two are virtually equivalent.
- The example given in that dictionary does not hyphenate as you have done, however: The plant was near dead when I got it.
- So you need "a near perfect performance" for your second phrase.
- Otherwise, both are fine.
- My personal feeling is that 'nearly' is more correct, or at least it sounds more standard.
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3 Answers
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Merriam-Webster gives 'nearly' as one of the definitiions of 'near', so there are cases where the two are virtually equivalent. The example given in that dictionary does not hyphenate as you have done, however:
The plant was near dead when I got it.
So you need "a near perfect performance" for your second phrase. Otherwise, both are fine.
My personal feeling is
The plant was near dead when I got it.
So you need "a near perfect performance" for your second phrase. Otherwise, both are fine.
My personal feeling is
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Does the hyphen force "near" and "perfect" to be read together, so that "near" is an adjective in
"a near-perfect performance"
, but without the hyphen between "near" and "perfect", "near" becomes an adverb and modifies "perfect performance" in
"a near perfect performance"
?
"a near-perfect performance"
, but without the hyphen between "near" and "perfect", "near" becomes an adverb and modifies "perfect performance" in
"a near perfect performance"
?
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PamQueueDoes the hyphen force "near" and "perfect" to be read together, so that "near" is an adjective inNo. near is an adverb in both case
"a near-perfect performance"
, but without the hyphen between "near" and "perfect", "near" becomes an adverb and modifies "perfect performance" in
"a near perfect performance"
?
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