Distance (Close to, Far from, Not Close To)

Distance is a tricky concept because it can refer to distance in space, time, emotions, or reality. In this post, I'll give you a few ways to use Close and Far.

The prepositions are "Close To" and "Far From". Don't confuse the two. Also, remember that the first nouns is the subject, and therefore emphasized.

Examples (Close To):
The supermarket is close to the liquor store. (space)
San Diego is close to the Mexican border. (space)
I'm close to finishing the project. I only need one more day. (time)
She said that she was close to a nervous breakdown. (time)
Even though they live in different cities, he's still close to his family. (emotion)
The boy is closest to his mother because his father works all the time. (emotion)

Note: When describing emotions, you can also say, "He and his family are close." or "The boy and his mother are close."


Examples (Far From):
Unfortunately, our hotel room is far from the beach. (space)
My home is far from my university. (space)
We dream of tourist flights into space, but this is far from a realization. (reality)
The battle is finished, but the war is far from over. (time)

Note: Commonly, far is only used for talking about space. For reality and time, you only use it to express a very long distance. Never use it for emotion.


Examples (Not Close To):
We've been working for days, but we're not close to finishing. (time)
I'm not close to my family. (emotion)

Note: When you express a long distance, it's often better to use not close to. In some situation, far is too strong of an expression.