Hey there! This is TOP episode 286. Near, Nearby, or Nearly?
Are you tired of lacking confidence when speaking English? Does it block you from achieving your true goals? This podcast is the place for you. This is Teacher Ola Podcast. My name’s Ola Mierniczak and I empower English learners to become confident speakers. The key to fluency is in your pocket. You’ll boost your vocabulary, brush up your grammar and improve your pronunciation. Enjoy your journey to fluency!
Hey there, and welcome back! Have you ever hesitated before saying “near,” “nearby,” or “nearly”? I know you have! And, no worries, you’re not alone! These words may seem similar, but they have very different uses—and mixing them up can lead to awkward mistakes. In today’s episode, I’ll break it all down for you in a simple, clear, and practical way.
Before we do just that, I need to ask you. Do you want to learn speaking English with me? Meet me once a week for the span of 12 weeks PLUS have life-time access to materials on our platform? Listen, if you do go to siol.pl and join us there. The new group starts its Speaking Club on the 10 April. We’ll be meeting every Thursday at 7:30 pm and chat for one hour. Imagine that! You do the course, step by step, you follow my program, you know exactly what to do and in what order and then, on Thursdays we get together and speak. But how? I know you can be stressed about that speaking party, but you shouldn’t. We have created a stress-free environment. Look, we meet up, do some warm up grammar task, and then we look at the task at hand (you know them before Speaking Club) and then we split into pairs and chat in separate rooms. After 10 minutes of conversations we get back together as a group. What do I do in the meantime? Sometimes I speak with you, as a member of the group, but if we have an even number of people in a group I turn off my camera and a microphone and visit you in your rooms. I don’t distract you, I don’t bother you, I just listen, make some notes. When we come back as a group we summarise the task, put down some useful phrases and move one to another task, you get another speaking partner and so it goes for the whole hour.
And that’s how people gain confidence, fluency and that’s how they become English speakers instead of just English learners. Come and join us, it’s fun! We have a WhatsApp group for voice messages, we’ve got monthly Extra Class meetings, oh so many bonuses… Go to siol.pl and read the reviews. Now, please remember you have 15 days for testing the course. If you don’t love it, give it back. One email, that’s it. If you have any questions, if you want a short call with me to check if this is the right course for you, email me. I’m waiting for you! Ok! Enrollment ends on Tuesday, the first of April. NOw! Let’s get back to the episode!
Near, nearby or nearly? That is the question! Let’s get into it!
“Near” is used as a preposition, adverb, or adjective. However, it is not used to describe movement toward someone or something.
So, it’s not correct to say:
A police officer came near me and asked me to describe what I had seen.
When we approach someone, we use verbs like go up to someone, come up to somepne, walk walk up to someone—not “near” or “near to” someone.
So instead of saying:
A police officer came near me.
Say:
✔ A police officer came up to me and asked me to describe what I had seen.
“Near” can function as an adjective meaning “a short distance away”. Near may be used after a linking verb, for instance:
The garage is quite near.
But the word ‘near’ does not go immediately before a noun. Like in this incorrect sentence:
I drove the car to a near garage.
Instead, we use “nearby.” Ok? Nearby before nouns:
✔ I drove the car to a nearby garage.
However, “nearest” can be used before a noun. For instance:
✔ I drove to the nearest garage.
When the word “nearest” is followed by a to-phrase, we place it immediately after the noun. I have an example of a wrong sentence, listen but don’t repeat:
I sat down in the nearest chair to the door.
See? ‘Nearest’ should go after the noun, like in this sentence:
✔ I sat down in the chair nearest to the door.
“Nearby” is used as an adjective or adverb, but not as a preposition. That’s why this sentence is incorrect:
The new supermarket is nearby the bank.
No, the correct sentence goes like this:
✔ The new supermarket is near to the bank.
So, once again, ‘nearby’ is used as an adjective ora as an adverb, listen to these sentences:
✔ We stayed in a nearby hotel.
✔ My parents live nearby, about a mile away.
“Nearly” is an adverb meaning “almost”. But if a sentence contains words like ‘no, nobody, nothing’ etc, you cannot use ‘nearly’. You have to use ‘almost’. Ok, so in negative sentences we use ‘almost’. In positive sentences you can use both: ‘almost’ and ‘nearly’. Listen, this is an incorrect sentence:
I slept very little and ate nearly nothing.
It’s wrong, because this sentence contains the word ‘nothing’, a negation. So it should go:
✔ I slept very little and ate almost nothing.
But if a sentence is positive, I mean it doesn’t contain words like: ‘no’, ‘nobody’, ‘nothing’ – you can use both, for instance:
✔ She knew almost everyone at the party.
✔ She knew nearly everyone at the party.
Ok, that’s it for the theory! Time for some practice! Listen and repeat these sentences out loud:
A police officer came up to me and asked me to describe what I had seen.
The garage is quite near.
I drove the car to a nearby garage.
I sat down in the chair nearest to the door.
The new supermarket is near the bank.
We stayed in a nearby hotel.
My parents live nearby, about a mile away.
I slept very little and ate almost nothing.
She knew almost everyone at the party.
She knew nearly everyone at the party.
Well done! Now download the worksheet. Go to teacherola.com/286.
Before we wrap up, quick reminder: Want to learn English with me? Join SIOL course, with lifetime access to materials, lots of bonuses, 12h of conversations. We meet every Thursday at 7:30 pm starting April 10th. It’s a stress-free environment where we chat, do warm-up tasks, split into pairs, and speak in separate rooms. You’ll gain confidence and fluency, step by step.
Head over to siol.pl, check out the reviews, and remember, you’ve got 15 days to try the course risk-free. If it’s not for you, no worries, just email me for a refund. Enrollment ends this Tuesday, April 1st, so don’t miss out!
That’s it for today. Thank you so much for listening! I’ll see you in the next episode. I believe in you—you can speak English with fluency if you truly want it! Stay fearless, take care, and say it out loud! I’m your teacher, Teacher Ola, and you’ve been listening to the Teacher Ola Podcast. Bye for now!