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Are "always almost" and "almost always" not interchangeable? Peace between longtime enemies is always almost accomplished at great personal risk to the peacemakers
25 gru 2015 02:51
Odpowiedzi · 10
3
Always almost doesn't make sense. It should be almost always.
25 grudnia 2015
3
the word 'almost' is a modifier that sticks to the word after it. It only changes the meaning of the word it's linked to. It's meaning is 'not quite all'. (Think 90%) Always means all the time. (100% of the time) So almost (90%) + always (100% of the time) = (90% of the time) Hyejeong's example: my hand is almost+always red (90% of the time, my hand is red.) Compare: my hand is always almost+red (100% of the time, my hand is 90% red) Your example: Peace between longtime enemies is always almost+accomplished... Peace... is 100% of the time 90% accomplished... In this example peace is never fully accomplished, it is always only nearly accomplished. In the correct sentence peace would be fully accomplished, but not all the time.
25 grudnia 2015
3
They definitely are not interchangeable. The order is significant - the first word modifies the meaning of the second. In your sentence - it doesn't make any sense. If you take out the 'modifier' always, you end up with "Peace is almost accomplished at a cost" - which is meaningless.
25 grudnia 2015
2
No they don't mean the same thing, I think your sentence is too complicated so I'll use an example of my own. My hands are always almost red. → My hands look almost red 24/7. My hands are almost always red. → My hands are red most of the time.
25 grudnia 2015
1
No, they are not interchangeable. "Almost always" means "most of the time." Ex. She is almost always late.== She is late most of the time. "Always almost" would mean "always close to ___" or "always near being ___" Ex. Her ponytail holder is always almost slipping out. == Her ponytail holder is always close to falling out (of her hair). Generally, I don't really hear "always almost" being said. The more natural choice would be "close to becoming/being ___" or something along those lines. Neither would be logical in your sentence, however.
25 grudnia 2015
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