Tripp Fenderson

Clio - my musings

Archive for June, 2008

Grammar Geeks - Near vs Nearly

Here’s a gem of a headline from the Washington Post this morning:

Floods swamp Iowa town; Drinking water near gone

washingtonpost.com headline grammar mistake

Drinking water near gone? Last time I checked, near is an adverb that references location and nearly, also an adverb, means almost. So...do I understand the story correctly? The drinking water, which is close by, is also gone?

I’m so confused.

[One of my friends regularly sends me emails referencing similar mistakes. This post is for you, buddy.]

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