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Consider these sentences:

  1. (×ほとんど/○ **もう少しで** ) いうのを忘れるところでした。
  2. プールの中の水は、(○ **ほとんど** /○ **もう少しで** ) 満杯である。
  3. 宿題は、(○ **ほとんど** /×もう少しで) 終わった。
  4. (×ほとんど/○ **もう少しで** ) あなたのお家に着きます。

In some cases it is ok to use もう少しで but in others it is not. The same goes for
ほとんど. Sometimes both can be used.

I have heard explanations like ほとんど is mainly used for "possibilities" and are
used for 1-D things like time, distance or level and things that have a
"span". And もう少しで is used for possibilities. But I have no idea what this
means at all.

Can someone explain the grammar behind this and why sometimes they are
interchangeable and sometimes they are not?
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2018-03-01T11:47:58.230
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question
grammar usage nuances
What is the difference between もう少しで and ほとんど?
**もう少しで** implies that the action or result of a certain verb is not
completed/finished but its completion comes soon, so it goes with the present
tense or the future tense like もう少しで終わる or もう少しで終わるでしょう/終わるだろう but doesn't go
with the past tense like もう少しで終わった.  
If you want to say something in the past tense using もう少しで, you can make it by
constructing a sentence in the past tense which encompasses the present tense
like もう少しで終わるところだった, which means 実際{じっさい}にはその時までには終わらなかった _Actually it was not
completed/finished before the designated time_.

On the other hand **ほとんど** implies that the action or result of a certain verb
is **mostly** completed/finished, so it goes with the past tense or verbs that
express the state of things like (宿題｛しゅくだい｝は)ほとんど終わった, (宿題は)ほとんど終わる or
(宿題は)ほとんど終わるでしょう/終わるだろう.
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answer
English "almost X" can describe two different kinds of situations:

  1. mostly X but not completely X 

>     * It's almost perfect (but is still imperfect).
>     * I almost forgot it (my memory about it is already vague).

  2. X was likely to happen, but it never happened 

>     * I almost died (but I didn't die).
>     * I almost forgot it (but I perfectly recalled it before a problem
> arose).

Now...

  * ほとんど is used _only_ in Situation 1. 

>     * ほとんど完璧です。 It's almost perfect.
>     * 彼はほとんど死んでいるようなものだ。 He's half dead.
>     * 三角関数はほとんど忘れました。 I almost forgot about trigonometric functions.

  * もう少しで is typically used in Situation 2. The pattern to memorize is `もう少しで + ～するところだ`, `もう少しで + ～しそうになる`. You can also use 危うく. See [your own previous question](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/56839/5010) and [Learn JLPT N2 Grammar: ところだった (tokoro datta)](http://japanesetest4you.com/flashcard/learn-jlpt-n2-grammar-%E3%81%A8%E3%81%93%E3%82%8D%E3%81%A0%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F-tokoro-datta/)

>     * もう少しで死ぬところだった。 I almost died.
>     * おっと、もう少しで忘れるところでした。 Oops, I almost forgot.

  * もう少しで can be (usually) used in Situation 1, too. Still, もう少しでX basically means X has not happened yet or X did not happen. Try thinking this phrase as "with a little more time/effort/resource/luck/misfortune/etc, ..." and see if it fits the context. 

>     * もう少しで満杯です。 With a little more water, it will be full.
>     * もう少しで終わります。 With a little more time, it will be done.
>     * もう少しで勝てた。 With a little more luck/effort, we could win. (i.e., we
> lost)
>     * 彼はもう少しで死ぬ。 He will die soon / with a little more damage.
>     * ×もう少しで終わった。 (weird)

Typically, もう少しで is closer to "soon" rather than "almost". Compare:

>   * もう少しで春です。 Spring will come soon (but it has not come yet).
>   * もうほとんど春です。 It's already almost spring (it's warm).
>
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