Is it acceptable to use "almost" at the end of a sentence to make it sound dramatic?

Does adding the word "almost" at the end of the sentence make it sound dramatic or does it change the context of the sentence? Additionally, is it grammatically acceptable?

• This new laptop has depleted my savings, almost.
• She gives him a slap on the wrist, almost.
• This new house has depleted my savings, well almost.

Solution 1:

The problem with this question is that it is difficult to support an answer to the first part with any objective evidence, and “is it acceptable” always begs the question “by whom?”. However:

1. As a British native speaker I would regard this as a self-depreciatory admission of exaggeration. It makes it less, rather than more dramatic — Being hard up as less dramatic than being penniless, although the exaggerated style of the dialogue itself is dramatic. Asking whether it could change the “Context of the sentence” seems strange. It says nothing about the context (which we do not know from the examples), only the meaning.

2. I’m no grammarian (and I should refuse to answer two questions in one anyway) but it strikes me that as a speech pattern it is in effect two sentences, the second missing a verb: “, almost.” standing in place of “. Well, I almost did.”. It would be generally accepted in speech. In writing it would depend on the style you were after. Obviously it works in reported speech, but an author aiming for a particular narrative style might use it, perhaps in an account of difficult day, e.g.

And so I went to pick up the kids from school, and Sue had got paint all over her dress, and then when we stopped at the supermarket they were out of Tom’s favourite breakfast cereal, and he started wailing, and my mother called me on the mobile tell me the dog had been sick on the carpet. There and then I had a nervous breakdown. Almost.

This (invented) fragment also illustrates the use as a stylistic device: the single word “almost” contrasts with the long concatenated sentence, and brings the section of the narrative to an end. Whether or not they like the style, nobody is going to criticize it as ungrammatical.

The moral is probably that if you understand the rules of the language you know when and how you can break them. If you don’t, they’ll break you. Almost.