Near 可當介系詞、形容詞、副詞和動詞用，而 near to 只用作介系詞。Near 和 near to 用作介系詞時為同義詞，但 near 比較常用。本文將僅就這兩者的用法做一說明。它們主要用在下列三種情況：
1. 用在距離上來表示「(離 …) 不遠，靠近」的意思。例如：
- Is there a hotel near here? (這附近有旅館嗎？)
- I’d like to sit near a window, please. (請給我一個靠窗的座位)
- She lives in a small town near Pingtung County. (她住在屏東縣附近的一個小鎮)
- Don’t come too near (to) me – you might catch my cold. (別靠我太近 － 你可能會被我傳染感冒)
- Which restaurant is nearest (to) her house? (哪家餐廳離她家最近？)
2. 用在時間上來表示「臨近，接近」的意思。例如：
- My father is near retirement. (我父親快退休了)
- It’s getting near to Chinese Lunar New Year. (中國農曆新年快到了)
- John is going to move to Taipei near the end of January. (約翰將在一月底搬到台北)
3. 用在某些情況上來表示「接近，瀕臨」的意思。例如：
- The marathon runners looked near exhaustion. (馬拉松跑者看起來快要筋疲力盡了)
- We all felt near to death. (我們都覺得快要死了)