We regularly see the graph ready when it is near that should have been written. Here are two faulty examples. The politician is not ready to give up his post. Telecommuting is not going away.
Although this is a frequent mistake in our time – this turn of phrase has not always been considered faulty – it is quite easy to make sure not to confuse these two homophones.
Note first that there can be quite a difference in meaning between near and ready to. He was ready to die and He was close to dying do not have the same meaning, although the outcome may be the same. Sentences He was about to change his mind (i.e. about to do so) and He was ready to change his mind (be decided, willing to do so) don’t have quite the same meaning either.
If we hesitate while writing They’re not about to let each other – wouldn’t it be rather loans ? – we can ensure that we have chosen the correct spelling by replacing near through far. They are not far from leaving each other. Since the sentence works, we know that it is indeed the adverb and that near is therefore correct. We can also choose another construction, if it helps us to determine the correct spelling. They are not close to breaking. They are not ready to break up.
You can also put your sentence in the feminine. It is then easier to see if we are wrong. We can sometimes read “he is not ready to break up”, instead of “not nearly”, but we will see much more rarely the fault “she is not ready to break up”.
After such a defeat, we are not about to see him again. The war is not about to end. The regime in place seems close to collapsing.
The turn to pass near is considered familiar. “Going close to dying, going close to victory. » the Larousse announces that we no longer use close as an adverb or as a preposition. Instead of writing they live near mewe will write instead they live near here ; they live near me.
Should we say “shave fresh” or “close shave”?
The expression “close shave” seems to me a pleonasm since one never shaves from “far”. However, I often come across “close shave” in journals and novels. Can you shed some light on this boring subject?
Reply
Both expressions are correct, but they do not have quite the same meaning, according to the sources consulted. Be freshly shaved, is to be shaved recently (freshly), to have shaved recently. And be a close shaveis to be shaved close to the hair. If you cultivate the three-day beard style, for example, you can be clean shaven without being clean shaven.