Question

hardly B1

Accepted Answer

adverbYou use hardly to modify a statement when you want to emphasize that it is only a small amount or detail which makes it true, and that therefore it is best to consider the opposite statement as being true.I hardly know you.Nick, on the sofa, hardly slept.He was given hardly 24 hours to pack his bags.Their two faces were hardly more than eighteen inches apart.You use hardly before a negative statement in order to emphasize that something is usually true or usually happens .Hardly a day goes by without a visit from someone.When you say you can hardly do something, you are emphasizing that it is very difficult for you to do it.I can hardly believe it's been over eight years since you used to go camping at Cedar Creek.My garden was covered with so many butterflies that I could hardly see the flowers.If you say hardly had one thing happened when something else happened, you mean that the first event was followed immediately by the second .He had hardly collected the papers on his desk when the door burst open.Hardly had he returned to London than an anonymous well-wisher called to say he was about to be raided by Customs & Excise.You use hardly to mean 'not' when you want to suggest that you are expecting your listener or reader to agree with your comment .We have not seen the letter, so we can hardly comment on it.It's hardly surprising his ideas didn't catch on.The growth rate for 1980-89 was 2.2%. Hardly the stuff of economic miracles.otherconventionYou use ' hardly ' to mean 'no', especially when you want to express surprise or annoyance at a statement that you disagree with.'They all thought you were marvellous!'—'Well, hardly.''We could almost have seen it,'—'Hardly, darling–in the dark and from a distance of a hundred feet?'

word	hardly
definition	adverb You use hardly to modify a statement when you want to emphasize that it is only a small amount or detail which makes it true, and that therefore it is best to consider the opposite statement as being true. I hardly know you. Nick, on the sofa, hardly slept. He was given hardly 24 hours to pack his bags. Their two faces were hardly more than eighteen inches apart. You use hardly before a negative statement in order to emphasize that something is usually true or usually happens . Hardly a day goes by without a visit from someone. When you say you can hardly do something, you are emphasizing that it is very difficult for you to do it. I can hardly believe it's been over eight years since you used to go camping at Cedar Creek. My garden was covered with so many butterflies that I could hardly see the flowers. If you say hardly had one thing happened when something else happened, you mean that the first event was followed immediately by the second . He had hardly collected the papers on his desk when the door burst open. Hardly had he returned to London than an anonymous well-wisher called to say he was about to be raided by Customs & Excise. You use hardly to mean 'not' when you want to suggest that you are expecting your listener or reader to agree with your comment . We have not seen the letter, so we can hardly comment on it. It's hardly surprising his ideas didn't catch on. The growth rate for 1980-89 was 2.2%. Hardly the stuff of economic miracles. other convention You use ' hardly ' to mean 'no', especially when you want to express surprise or annoyance at a statement that you disagree with. 'They all thought you were marvellous!'—'Well, hardly.' 'We could almost have seen it,'—'Hardly, darling–in the dark and from a distance of a hundred feet?'
cefr-level	B1

Statement I Emphasize Comment Adverb Modify Small Amount