即将 and 几乎: about to, almost
【四07】副词 / adverbs
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
即将 + verb means "about to, soon": a scheduled or unavoidable event that arrives very shortly (考试即将开始, 飞机即将起飞). 几乎 means "almost, nearly": you come close to an amount or a state without quite reaching it (我几乎每天都去超市). Both are adverbs: they go after the subject, before the verb.
即将 belongs to written or "announcement" register (TV news, station and airport loudspeakers, posters) and looks only at the future. It needs no final 了 and can sit with an exact time in an announcement (台风今晚即将登陆), which 快要……了 does not allow. In everyday talk people prefer 快要……了, 就要……了 or plain 马上.
几乎 goes with 每 or 都 ("almost every, almost always") and above all with a negative: 几乎没 / 几乎不 / 几乎搬不动 = "practically not, hardly" (我几乎没吃东西: I barely ate anything). Do not mix it up with 差不多 ("about the same"), which compares two things.
Examples
我几乎每天都去超市。
Wǒ jīhū měi tiān dōu qù chāoshì.I go to the supermarket almost every day.
他说得太快了，我几乎没听懂。
Tā shuō de tài kuài le, wǒ jīhū méi tīng dǒng.He spoke so fast that I hardly understood anything.
考试即将开始，请大家关上手机。
Kǎoshì jíjiāng kāishǐ, qǐng dàjiā guānshang shǒujī.The exam is about to begin; please switch off your phones.
比赛即将开始，球场里几乎坐满了人。
Bǐsài jíjiāng kāishǐ, qiúchǎng li jīhū zuò mǎn le rén.The match is about to start and the stadium is almost full.
暑假即将开始，孩子们兴奋得几乎睡不着觉。
Shǔjià jíjiāng kāishǐ, háizimen xīngfèn de jīhū shuì bu zháo jiào.Summer holiday is about to begin, and the kids are so excited they can hardly sleep.
台风即将在我们这个城市登陆，街上几乎没有人了。
Táifēng jíjiāng zài wǒmen zhège chéngshì dēnglù, jiē shang jīhū méiyǒu rén le.The typhoon is about to make landfall in our city, and there is hardly anyone in the streets.
Common mistakes
✗ 火车几乎开了 → ✓ 火车快要开了 / 火车即将开出 (几乎 means "almost" in amount or degree, it does not mean "about to").
✗ 他们去年即将结婚 → ✓ 他们即将结婚 / 他们去年结了婚 (即将 only looks forward).
✗ 我即将去超市买菜 → ✓ 我马上去超市买菜 (即将 keeps its solemn tone for announced events, not for small everyday actions).