Hello everyone - how are you today this is Marc I'm doing great
thanks for asking - we're going to talk about confusing words today but let me
tell you first that there is a playlist on my channel called Confusing English
if you watch that playlist you will see many examples - but let's just take a look
at these two words hard and hardly so hard is an adjective
it means resistant severe requiring great effort - just take a look at my
example when I lived in Canada I experienced HARD winters HARD here is an
adjective it modifies winters - as an adverb with great force or energy for
example - he works really HARD - HARD here modifies the verb because it's an adverb
we have a list of idioms I'm going to talk about just two of them HARD UP
lacking something that is greatly desired for example - she was HARD UP for
a baby - she wanted a baby another idiomHARD PUT undergoing great
difficulty for example they were HARD PUT to face the truth - so they didn't
want to face the truth basically - let's look at HARDLY instead
HARDLY you have to consider it as the opposite of true
so as an adverb a means barely at all almost not scarcely like my example - she
HARDLY knew him so she didn't know him probably not as probably not for
example - it's hardly a secret the neighbor had a feud - a feud means a
fight a quarrel it's HARDLY a secret so probably not probably - probably is
not a secret right the neighbors had a feud four things that you need to
remember about these two words first placement so the placement of HARDLY in
this case if for the main verb and after the model or auxiliary verb for example
Peter could modal verb could HARDLY hear me so he didn't hear me at all for
example - number two do not use the negative with it - so for example I can
HARDLY understand him not I can't hardly understand him - so I can HARDLY
understand him because HARDLY is negative the third point time expression
so we have a time expression with HARDLY so HARDLY ever - it almost never
happens - for example they HARDLY ever travel
abroad for example they HARDLY ever travel abroad
I HARDLY ever speak Russian etc - the last point that I want to mention is for
formal contexts so we use HARDLY at the beginning of a sentence for example if
you read Persuasion by Jane Austen you would read this sentence HARDLY
were they settled when the door opened again - so HARDLY here is at the beginning
of the sentence that we need the auxiliary of the sentence and then the
subject so HARDLY were they settled when the door opened again
I hope you enjoyed the lesson if you have any comments requests or if you
want to type your own example using one of these words you may do so under this
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take care bye bye