<p>这辆车 几乎 撞到我了 = This car almost hit me</p>
<p>这辆车 要 撞到我了 = This car is about to hit me</p>
<p>这辆车 几乎要 撞到我了 = This car was about to hit me</p>
<p>Both &quot;almost&quot; and &quot;about to&quot; describe &quot;close to&quot;.
Using both emphasize &quot;close to&quot;</p>
<p>几乎撞到 is in the past tense</p>
<p>要撞到 is in the future tense</p>
<p>几乎要撞到 make it past tense again</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-26T17:25:24.167Z
This answer is similar to that of @Pedroski, though different (but not necessarily contradictory) from that of user36132. That is, 几乎撞到我了 appears to be in the perfective aspect, while 几乎要撞到我了 is imperfective in aspect with an additional emphasis on emotional impact. Is this the correct way to look at it? Or, is it only the emotional emphasis that changes (or, conversely, only the aspect that changes)?
2ndQuantized
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-25T06:27:27.877Z
2023-05-25T06:27:27.877Z
Tang Ho
<p>You can get tied up in time traps. An event: <em>knocked into me</em> nearly happened, but didn't. Is that then in the past? Or anywhere in time?</p>
<p>More context would clarify the situation.</p>
<p>almost: the greater part of something</p>
<pre><code>1. 这辆车几乎撞到我了。
   That car almost knocked into me.
2. 这辆车几乎(将）要撞 到我了。
   That car was on the verge of knocking into me. (You took some evasive action?)
</code></pre>
<p>将要：即将; 用在动词前面,表示行为或情况在不久以后发生;<br />
即将：on the verge of; used in front of a verb, expresses an action or situation will happen very soon</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-26T07:23:58.977Z
2023-05-26T21:21:42.127Z
2023-05-26T21:21:42.127Z
Pedroski
<p>几乎要 = 几乎就要 emphasizes the nearness/closeness of the described event/experience:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>这辆车 几乎 撞到我了 = This car almost hit me.</p>
</li>
<li><p>这辆车 几乎要 撞到我了 = This car is almost <strong>about to</strong> hit me.</p>
</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-25T14:00:32.607Z
2023-05-25T16:11:19.773Z
2023-05-25T16:11:19.773Z
r13
<p>In my understanding, the only difference between &quot;几乎撞到我了&quot; and &quot;几乎要撞到我了&quot; lies in the fact that the former is an objective narration, while the latter carries your subjective judgment and emotions. With the latter, you believe that the accident was unavoidable.
So the former is used to recount your previous experience to others, and the latter phrase is usually used when arguing with the driver.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-25T07:43:06.390Z
2023-05-25T07:43:06.390Z
user36132
<p>I just spent an hour of class trying to figure out the difference between： &quot;这辆车几乎     撞 到我了&quot; and &quot;这辆车几乎 要撞 到我了&quot;. The only differnence is 几乎要 and not 几乎.  The teacher kept saying something about &quot;emphasizing a process&quot; but I still don't know what she was talking about.  They both mean that I was almost hit by a car.  In neither sentence was I hit by the car.  It doesn't mean I am about to be hit by a car.  What does 要 add to this idea?<br />
Thanks!</p>

<grammar><meaning><usage><difference><mandarin>
usage of 几乎 vs 几乎要
# usage of 几乎 vs 几乎要

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-05-25)

I just spent an hour of class trying to figure out the difference between： "这辆车几乎 撞 到我了" and "这辆车几乎 要撞 到我了". The only differnence is 几乎要 and not 几乎. The teacher kept saying something about "emphasizing a process" but I still don't know what she was talking about. They both mean that I was almost hit by a car. In neither sentence was I hit by the car. It doesn't mean I am about to be hit by a car. What does 要 add to this idea?  
Thanks!

**Tags:** grammar, meaning, usage, difference, mandarin

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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-05-25. Score: 1

这辆车 几乎 撞到我了 = This car almost hit me

这辆车 要 撞到我了 = This car is about to hit me

这辆车 几乎要 撞到我了 = This car was about to hit me

Both "almost" and "about to" describe "close to".
Using both emphasize "close to"

几乎撞到 is in the past tense

要撞到 is in the future tense

几乎要撞到 make it past tense again

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: This answer is similar to that of @Pedroski, though different (but not necessarily contradictory) from that of user36132. That is, 几乎撞到我了 appears to be in the perfective aspect, while 几乎要撞到我了 is imperfective in aspect with an additional emphasis on emotional impact. Is this the correct way to look at it? Or, is it only the emotional emphasis that changes (or, conversely, only the aspect that changes)?  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2023-05-26. Score: 1

You can get tied up in time traps. An event: knocked into me nearly happened, but didn't. Is that then in the past? Or anywhere in time?
More context would clarify the situation.
almost: the greater part of something
1. 这辆车几乎撞到我了。
   That car almost knocked into me.
2. 这辆车几乎(将）要撞 到我了。
   That car was on the verge of knocking into me. (You took some evasive action?)

将要：即将; 用在动词前面,表示行为或情况在不久以后发生;
即将：on the verge of; used in front of a verb, expresses an action or situation will happen very soon


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### Answer by username_4 on 2023-05-25. Score: 1

几乎要 = 几乎就要 emphasizes the nearness/closeness of the described event/experience:

* 这辆车 几乎 撞到我了 = This car almost hit me.
* 这辆车 几乎要 撞到我了 = This car is almost **about to** hit me.


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### Answer by username_5 on 2023-05-25. Score: 0

In my understanding, the only difference between "几乎撞到我了" and "几乎要撞到我了" lies in the fact that the former is an objective narration, while the latter carries your subjective judgment and emotions. With the latter, you believe that the accident was unavoidable.
So the former is used to recount your previous experience to others, and the latter phrase is usually used when arguing with the driver.


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