Distance #2 (Near, Nearby)

Many English learners make mistakes with the words near and nearby.
The mistakes include when to use them, and where to place them.
Be warned: this is not a simple topic, so think carefully about it.


Near is used when discussing the distance between two objects.
It can be used for the absolute distance between two locations.

Example: The subway station is near my office.
The red light district is near city hall.
The fire station is near the fireworks factory.


Near can also be used for the relative distance between two things.

Example: There's a bear near the picnic baskets. Run away!
This is a long bus ride. Are we near the university yet?
I'm near the police station now. I'll go in for help. (phone)



Nearby can be used when the subject is assumed, but not explicitly mentioned.

Example: The subway station is nearby.
You've suffered a lot today. Do you have any friends or family nearby?
I'm starving. Can we go somewhere nearby to eat?


Nearby can also be used as an adjective for a location.

Example: He goes to a nearby pharmacy to buy his heart medication.
The robbery took place at a nearby restaurant.

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.

Compared to and Compared with

Today, one student asked me when you can use 'compared to' and 'compared with'. At that moment, I didn't have an answer. Now, I've done my research and this is it:

"compared to" is used when equating two things as whole.
Example: The proud father compared his daughter to an angel.
(e.g. The proud father thinks his daughter is like an angel.)

"compared with" is used when making an in-depth comparison.
Example: The proud father compared his daughter with an angel. He decided they were similar because they're both beautiful, but dissimilar because angels have wings and his daughter doesn't.

Other times, using "with" or "to" is commonly done by native speakers, so don't dwell on it.
Example: The weather very cold compared with/to yesterday.

~~Lance