hardly，scarcely和barely这三个词在意义上都接近于否定。hardly 主要与any，ever，at all或动词can连用：He has hadly any money．他几乎没有钱。（非常少）I hardly ever go out．我很少外出。（我极少外出。）It hadly rained at all last summer．去年夏天没怎么下雨。Her case is so heavy that she can hadly lift it．她的箱子太重了，她简直提不起来。也可以和其他动词连用：I hardly know him．我不太认识他。（我只是与他认识而已。）注意不要把副词hard与hardly搞混：He looked hard at it．他使劲地盯着它看。（他在盯着它。）He hardly looked at it．他几乎没看它。（他瞄了它一眼。）scarcely意为“几乎不”，它可以代替hardly。上述例句中也可用scarcely any/scarcely ever等。但scarcely主要意为“不到”、“不足”：There were scarcely twenty people there．那儿连20个人都没有。（关于hardly/scarcely之后的倒装语序，见第45节与第342节E。）barely意为“不超过”、“仅仅”：There were barely twenty people there．那儿不超过20个人。（刚刚20个）I can barely see it．我勉强看得见它。（我只能看见而已。）