This is one of my favourite errors that learners of English make. It’s a very common error – I’ve heard learners from beginner all the way through to advanced make it.
The error is commonly heard in situations like this:
Q: Do you like everyone?
A: No, I like almost people. …or…
Almost Australians love barbecues. …or…
Almost people use mobile phones every day.
The word almost means very nearly, or very close to. So you can see that it is an error to say I like very nearly people. That doesn’t make any sense at all!
The correct way to say these things is to say:
I like almost ALL people
Almost ALL Australians love barbecues.
Almost ALL people use mobile phones every day.
If you want to use this phrase as a negative, we replace ALL with NO. For example:
Almost NO Australians love barbecues.
It’s not an error anymore, but it’s still wrong, isn’t it?!
You can also say almost ALWAYS or almost NEVER, in sentences like:
Australia almost ALWAYS beat England in the cricket.
My cat almost NEVER does what I want him to!
The reason this is one of my favourite errors is because of the picture that almost people creates in my mind. What are almost people? How can you almost be a person? You either are a person, or you’re not, right? Is an almost person a body without a head on it? How do almost people without heads use their mobile phones?
What about almost Australians? Does that mean people who are trying to become Australian residents? They have studied in Australia, and got a good score in the IELTS test, and now they’re just waiting
I almost smile when someone says almost people… whoops! I mean almost ALWAYS smile!
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