Zaiko-o hotondo uri-kiru koto-ga dekimashita. (We managed to sell most of our stock.)

Situation 1: Section Chief Okubo asks his staff about the sales of their new goods.

大久保： 新製品の売り上げがよくないようだね。

グレイ： いえ、先日テレビ番組で取り上げてくれたおかげで、在庫をほとんど売り切ることができました。

Ōkubo: Shin-sēhin-no uriage-ga yoku-nai yō-da-ne.

Mita: Ie, senjitsu terebi-bangumi-de toriagete-kureta okage-de, zaiko o hotondo uri-kiru koto-ga dekimashita.

Okubo: I heard our new product isn’t doing very well.

Mita: No. It was featured on a TV show the other day and now we’ve managed to sell most of our stock.

Today we’ll introduce the meaning and usage of the adverb ほとんど, which modifies a verb, adjective or adverb. ほとんど means mostly, or almost all of something, as in Ms. Gray’s comment above. More examples: ほとんどすべての人が知(し)っていることだ (That’s something most people know); 病気(びょうき)はほとんど治(なお)った (I’ve almost recovered from my illness); そんなことはほとんど不可能(ふかのう)だ (Such a thing is almost impossible). ほとんど can also modify a negative sentence. Example: 病状 (びょうじょう)は以前(いぜん)とほとんど変(か)わりはない (The condition of his illness has hardly changed from before). ほとんど is also sometimes used as a noun, like: 売(う)り上(あ)げのほとんどを寄付(きふ)した (We donated almost all our sales revenue).

Situation 2: Department head Yamani asks section chief Okubo about a trouble that occurred at work today.

ヤマニ： 今日、PA社の担当を怒らせたと聞きましたが。

大久保： はい、契約はほとんど決裂するところでしたが、 仲介役の大川商事の社長がとりなしてくれまして、何とか収まりました。

Yamani: Kyō, PA-sha-no tantō-o okoraseta-to kikimashita-ga.

Ōkubo: Hai, keiyaku-wa hotondo ketsuretsu-suru tokoro-deshita-ga, chūkaiyaku-no Ōkawa-shōji-no shachō-ga torinashite-kuremashite, nantoka osamarimashita.

Yamani: I heard we upset the person in charge at PA company today.

Okubo: Yes, boss. Our contract nearly fell apart, but the president of Okawa Commercials, our go-between, mediated for us and it was settled.

The pattern ほとんどX(verb)だった shows that X almost happened, as in Mr. Okubo’s sentence above. Thus, X (verb in dictionary form)+ところだった or X (verb in pre-masu form) +そうだった is usually used in this pattern. Example: ほとんど車(くるま)にひかれるところだった (I was nearly ran over by a car).

Bonus Dialogue: Mrs. Okubo and her daughter, Takako, a junior high student, are talking about Takako’s school uniform.

たか子： クラスメートはほとんどみんな制服(せいふく)を いやがっているよ。廃止(はいし)すればいいのに。学校(がっこう)に何(なに)を着(き)て行(い)こうかって毎日(まいにち)考(かんが)えていたら、ファッション・センスが磨(みが)かれるはずだよ。

母： あなたたちの年頃(としごろ)は、頭(あたま)の中 (なか)がほとんどファッションのことばかりなんだから、毎日服(ふく)のことを考えていたら、勉強のことを考える時間がなくなっちゃうでしょ。

たか子： ファッションのことばかり考えていたら、ファッション・デザイナーになれるかもしれない。

母： デザイナーになるのだって、英語(えいご)や数学 (すうがく)の基礎(きそ)は必要(ひつよう)なのよ。

たか子： 何を話(はな)しても、お母(かあ)さんの結論(けつろん)はほとんどいつも、「勉強が大切(たいせつ)だ」ってことなんだ。お母さん、学生(がくせい)の ころ、そんなに勉強が好きだったの？

母： 私は勉強ぎらいで、ほとんどまじめに勉強しなかったから、今(いま)になってその大切さがわかったの。

Takako: Most of my classmates dislike our school uniform. I wish they’d abolish it. Thinking about what to wear to school every day would improve our fashion sense.

Mother: Fashion is all that girls your age think about and if you were thinking about clothes every day, you won’t have any time to think about your studies.

Takako: If I focus on thinking about fashion, maybe I can become a fashion designer.

Mother: You need basic knowledge of English and mathematics to become a designer, too, you know.

Takako: No matter what we talk about, your conclusion is always “Studying is important.” Mom, did you really like studying that much as a student?

Mother: I didn’t like to study and didn’t study hard, which is why I understand its importance now.