Hardly, Scarcely, Barely

Near-negative adverbs meaning 'almost not'

intermediate

When to Use

•Almost not: I can hardly hear you. (= almost can't)
•Very little: There's hardly any milk left.
•Just managed: We barely caught the train.
•Scarcely (formal): She had scarcely arrived when it started raining.
•Emphasizing difficulty: I could barely keep my eyes open.

How to Form

Affirmative (+)

Subject + can/could + hardly/barely/scarcely + verb

Negative (-)

Don't use with negative verbs (already negative meaning)

Question (?)

Can you hardly see? → Can you see at all?

💡 These words are already negative, so don't add 'not'. Position: usually before main verb or after auxiliary.

Examples

✓I can hardly believe it.

✗I can't hardly believe it.

Hardly is already negative; don't add 'not'.

✓There's barely enough food for everyone.

✗There isn't barely enough food.

Barely is negative; no double negative.

✓She hardly ever goes out.

✗She doesn't hardly ever go out.

Hardly ever = almost never; already negative.

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

• Hardly/Scarcely/Barely = almost not (negative meaning)
• Never use with 'not' or other negatives
• Hardly ever = almost never
• Hardly any = almost no/none
• Scarcely is more formal than hardly/barely

negative-forms adverbs-frequency inversion 📝 negation-intermediate 📝 hardly-scarcely-barely-quiz

Hardly, Scarcely, Barely

Near-negative adverbs meaning 'almost not'

intermediate

When to Use

•Almost not: I can hardly hear you. (= almost can't)
•Very little: There's hardly any milk left.
•Just managed: We barely caught the train.
•Scarcely (formal): She had scarcely arrived when it started raining.
•Emphasizing difficulty: I could barely keep my eyes open.

How to Form

Affirmative (+)

Subject + can/could + hardly/barely/scarcely + verb

Negative (-)

Don't use with negative verbs (already negative meaning)

Question (?)

Can you hardly see? → Can you see at all?

💡 These words are already negative, so don't add 'not'. Position: usually before main verb or after auxiliary.

Examples

✓I can hardly believe it.

✗I can't hardly believe it.

Hardly is already negative; don't add 'not'.

✓There's barely enough food for everyone.

✗There isn't barely enough food.

Barely is negative; no double negative.

✓She hardly ever goes out.

✗She doesn't hardly ever go out.

Hardly ever = almost never; already negative.

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

• Hardly/Scarcely/Barely = almost not (negative meaning)
• Never use with 'not' or other negatives
• Hardly ever = almost never
• Hardly any = almost no/none
• Scarcely is more formal than hardly/barely

negative-forms adverbs-frequency inversion 📝 negation-intermediate 📝 hardly-scarcely-barely-quiz

Hardly, Scarcely, Barely

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

Related

Hardly, Scarcely, Barely

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

Related

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

✗I don't hardly know him.

✗He can't barely walk.

✗I hard believe it.

💡 Practice Tips

Related

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

✗I don't hardly know him.

✗He can't barely walk.

✗I hard believe it.

💡 Practice Tips

Related