误:We were late, and missed nearly the train.
正:We were late, and nearly missed the train.
书上说,上面的误句是因为 nearly 的位置放错了,即要放在动词之前,而不能放在动词之后。
nearly 放在动词之前或之后都可以,只是要看它是修饰谁。假若是修饰动词,则放在动词之前,若是修饰动词后面的宾语,则放在动词之后和宾语之前,也就是,nearly 修饰谁就放在谁的前面。
1.修饰动词的例子(放在动词之前):
We were late, and nearly missed the train. 我们迟到了,差点误了火车。
I nearly tripped over the cat. 我差点被猫绊倒。
I nearly fainted in the heat. 我差点热得昏了过去。
I nearly died laughing when he said that. 他说那话时我差点要笑破肚皮。
若遇情态动词或助动词,则通常置于其后。如:
I’ve nearly finished. 我已经差不多完成了。
His researches are nearly finished now. 他的研究工作已基本完成。
2.修饰动词后宾语的例子(放在动词之后和宾语之前):
The war lasted nearly a decade. 战争持续了将近十年。
We got married nearly forty years ago. 我们差不多是在四十年前结的婚。
Our extension is nearly finished. 我们的扩建部分已接近完工。
Gross sales reached nearly $2 million a year. 全年总销售额达到近二百万美元。
He raised nearly $30 million in campaign funds. 他筹集到了近 3,000 万美元的宣传活动经费。
除此之外,nearly 也可能修饰其他成分(如修饰主语),同样要放在被修饰成分之前。