Almost or nearly?

 We use almost and nearly to refer to the progress of things, especially if we are
measuring and counting things. In these examples, almost and nearly can both be used:

[someone has been running five miles on a running machine in a gym]

 Don’t give up! You’re almost there.

 It’s time for bed. It’s nearly 10 o’clock.
 Their CD has sold almost 90,000 copies in the last week.
 Nearly all my friends were in the photograph.

 We also use almost and nearly with extreme adjectives such as perfect, impossible or
frozen:

 That guy is almost impossible.

 The chicken is still nearly frozen. I thought you’d taken it out of the freezer.

 We use almost (but not nearly) to soften statements:

 I almost wish I hadn’t offered to pay his fine.

 We use almost before any and before negative words such as no, none, never, nobody,
nothing. We don’t use nearly in this way:

[describing computer software which traces the history of towns]

 Using this special software, you can find the history of almost any building.
 They’ve almost no confidence that they can use the new phone properly.
 She almost never raises her voice.

Not: She nearly never raises her voice.