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Topic: Hard or hardly? |
21 Feb 2002 |
Many people find it confusing to use 'hard' and 'hardly' simply because they feel that 'hardly'
is an adverb form of 'hard'. That's hardly the case.
Hard can be an adjective or an adverb.
It's a hard job. (adjective).
This is a very hard surface. (adjective).
You have to work hard. (adverb) (NOT You have to work hardly.)
Hit it hard. (adverb)
Hardly is an adverb. It means 'almost no' or 'almost not '.
He hardly works at all. (= He does very little work.)
I've got hardly any money.
He knows hardly anything about geography. |
Note that hardly, hardly any, hardly ever, etc. are much more
common than almost not, almost no, almost never etc. |
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Exercise: Hard or hardly |
| Directions: Choose the word that fits the context of each sentence. |
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 1. It's very busy at work this morning. I _______ have anytime for lunch. |
| 2. The boss is away, so we are having a _______ time at work. |
| 3. It has been raining very _______. It's a bad idea to plan an outdoor activity. |
| 4. It _______ rains at all this week and farmers are getting worried. |
| 5. I was _______ on my daughter and we _______ talked when she was still living here. |
| 6. Since she moved away, I _______ see her. |
| 7. Bob tried very _______ in school while his brother is lazy. His brother _______ studies. |
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Answers |
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