Penggunaan Mostly, Almost dan Most

Penggunaan kata Mostly dan Almost dan most terkadang kita bingung. Nah berikut ini penjelasan singkatnya. 

Almost adalah  adverb dana most adalah adjective. Adverbs itu bisa merebah apa saja yang kita mau. Ia bisa merubah verbs, adjectives, dan adverbs sekalipun. Adjectives bisa merubah nouns. Adverbs bisa merubah nouns, tapi hanya pada saat-saat tertentu, seperti halnya time or place and a few others.

Kata  Almost jenis adverb yang spesial. Ia sering disebut dengan  adverb of degree.

That means that "almost" modifies "how close" you are. Almost must be used with words that imply a change in the present situation.

For example, "almost" before an adjective:

I was almost late for work. = I arrived to work on time, but it was very close. (Work starts at 9:00AM, and I arrived at 8:59AM.)

I am almost finished. = I will be finished soon.

If you use "almost" before a verb:

My son is almost walking. = My son is a baby, and he can't walk yet. But he is trying hard and he will be walking soon.

If you use "almost" before a time/age (noun):

I am almost 31 years old. = I am 30 years old. I will have my 31st birthday soon.

If you use "almost" before a place (noun):

I am almost at the bar. = I will arrive at the bar soon.

I am almost home. = I will arrive home soon.

I am almost there. = I will be there soon. (at the place where the person with whom I'm speaking is)

If you use "almost" before a time (noun);

It is almost 3 o'clock. = It will be 3 o'clock soon.

If you use "almost" before some nouns like man, woman:

She is almost a woman. = She is a teenager. She will have to have responsibility soon. She will soon be a woman.

Nah, sekarang kata "Most", Kata Most adalah sebuah  adjective dan itu berarti hanya bisa digunakan di depan nouns.

Most decribes "how many" are there. Most means = "a large percentage".

For example,

Most students passed the test. (80-99% of the students passed the test.)

Most people like tea. (80-99% of people like tea.)

Most cats have tails. (80-99% of cats have tails.)

Most fish have scales. (80-99% of fish have scales.)

Most cars have four wheels. (80-99% of cars have four wheels.)

The confusing thing is that "almost" can also modify adjectives like "all".

All means everyone or everything.

"Almost all" = "a very large percentage (99%)"

"Almost all" is like "most" but it usually means a bigger number.

Almost all birds can fly. = All birds, except a few, can fly. (About 40 types of birds can't fly).

This sentence shows that you are emphasizing that almost all birds can fly.

Does everyone get it?

Almost students passed the test. ( Salah )

Most students passed the test. ( Benar )

I am most finished. ( Salah )

I am mostly finished ( Benar)

I am almost finished ( Benar )

Mostly = of all the options, this is the majority. 

Almost = good enough but not perfect. 

Nearly = very close to the optimal position but not quite there.

The three words should not be used interchangeably or there is a possibility of bad English usage. This could lead to misunderstanding of what you're trying to say, depending on the context.

1. His books are mostly useless= the majority of the books written by him cannot be used for anything.

2. His books are almost useless = the content of his books are not fit for purpose.

3. His books are nearly useless = his books can be used but they need additional material to support them.

4. He mostly succeeded = very bad English, this is not a correct use of the word 'mostly' and is a very lazy or inarticulate way of saying "almost".

5. He almost succeeded = he came very close to success.

6. He nearly succeeded = he failed by a discernable margin.

7. His life had mostly completed its span = bad English, incorrect use of 'mostly'. If you want to use 'mostly' in this context you should say "Most of his life was over". The meaning is then self-evident.

8. His life had almost completed its span = again this is bad English because it implies that the span of his life was nearly complete but somehow he missed the end. That is nonsense.

9. His life had nearly completed its span = he was close to death.

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