Review 2 (lessons 7–11)

In many languages "almost not", "almost never" and "rarely" are built with the ordinary negative word, as in French presque pas and Spanish casi no, or sound like a negative. English has words that carry the negative themselves, without not: hardly — "almost not, only just", hardly ever — "almost never", rarely — "not often".

The position. These words go where adverbs of frequency go (A1 #11): before the main verb, but after be and after an auxiliary or a modal verb.

What each one means.

hardly — "almost not, only just" — is about degree: I could hardly breathe. — "it was very difficult for me to breathe". It is especially frequent with can and could: I can hardly wait! — "I'm so excited, it's difficult to wait!"

hardly ever — "almost never" — is about frequency: It hardly ever snows here. It is the step between rarely and never: always → usually → often → sometimes → rarely → hardly ever → never.

rarely — "not often" — is calmer: I rarely eat meat. In bookish language seldom means the same.

In a short answer these words stand alone, without a verb: — Do you see your cousins? — Hardly ever. — Do you go to concerts? — Rarely. The usual conversational way is with not: I don't go very often, I don't really know him. It is softer and simpler; hardly and rarely sound more exact and a little stronger, so they are especially good in writing.

hardly any, hardly anyone. With any and the words made from it (A2 #14) you get "almost no": There's hardly any milk left. — "there is very little milk". Hardly anyone came. — "almost nobody came". There's hardly anything in the fridge. — "the fridge is almost empty".

No second negative. The word is already negative, and a not next to it makes a double negative, which standard English does not have: ✗ I don't hardly know him → ✓ I hardly know him. This is the same law as with neither … nor (B1 #6) and nobody (A2 #14). That is why hardly is followed by any, not no: hardly any time, but not ✗ hardly no time.

How to build it. "Almost not" + a verb is hardly + the verb without not; "almost never" is hardly ever; "almost no", "almost nobody", "almost nothing" are hardly any, hardly anyone, hardly anything. If your language puts a "not" in such sentences, don't carry it over into English: the word hardly has already done its job.

hard and hardly are different words. hard is both an adjective and an adverb: I work hard — "I work a lot and with effort" (A2 #15). hardly is not the adverb from hard, but a separate word with its own meaning:

Two letters turn the meaning into its opposite.

Don't say this. ✗ I go hardly ever to the cinema → ✓ I hardly ever go to the cinema. These words do not stand between the verb and what follows it.

Check yourself. How do you say that you know your neighbours very little? What does He works hard mean, and what does He hardly works mean? What is wrong in There's hardly no time?