Adverbs with different meanings (hard, hardly) Practice Tests with B1 Grammar Rules & Examples

Adverbs with Different Meanings: Hard and Hardly

Some English adverbs look very similar but have completely different meanings. Two of the most important examples are hard and hardly. Many learners think that hardly is simply the adverb form of hard, but this is not true. They mean very different things, and using the wrong one can completely change the meaning of your sentence.

In this lesson, you will learn:

• What hard means as an adverb
• What hardly means as an adverb
• How to use each one correctly in a sentence
• How to avoid common mistakes

Let's start with a simple situation to show why this matters:

Maria studies hard every day. She hardly has any free time.

The first sentence means Maria studies a lot / with great effort. The second sentence means she almost never has free time. Two very different ideas — but the adverbs look almost the same!

What Does "Hard" Mean as an Adverb?

When we use hard as an adverb, it means with a lot of effort, energy, or force. It tells us how someone does something. It is a positive idea — the person is doing something seriously or strongly.

Position in the sentence: Hard usually comes after the verb or after the object.

Pattern:
Subject + verb + hard
Subject + verb + object + hard

Examples of "Hard" as an Adverb

• She works hard every day. (= She puts in a lot of effort at work.)
• It was raining hard this morning. (= The rain was very heavy.)
• He hit the ball hard. (= He hit it with a lot of force.)
• They trained hard before the competition. (= They practised a lot.)
• Please try hard — this exam is important. (= Make a big effort.)

What Does "Hardly" Mean as an Adverb?

Hardly is a negative adverb. It means almost not or almost none / almost never. It tells us that something is very close to zero — very little, very rarely, or almost impossible.

Think of hardly as a way to say something is almost zero without using the word "not" or "never".

Position in the sentence: Hardly usually comes before the main verb, or after an auxiliary verb (like can, could, have, is, was).

Pattern:
Subject + hardly + main verb
Subject + auxiliary verb + hardly + main verb

Examples of "Hardly" as an Adverb

• I hardly slept last night. (= I slept almost not at all.)
• She hardly ever goes to the cinema. (= She almost never goes.)
• There is hardly any milk left. (= There is almost no milk.)
• He could hardly breathe after running. (= It was almost impossible for him to breathe.)
• I can hardly hear you — can you speak louder? (= I can almost not hear you at all.)

Hard vs. Hardly: Side-by-Side Comparison

Here is a clear table to help you see the difference between hard and hardly:

Adverb	Meaning	Positive or Negative?	Example Sentence
hard	with a lot of effort / force	Positive idea	He works hard.
hardly	almost not / almost never	Negative idea	He hardly works.
hard	strongly / heavily	Positive idea	It rained hard.
hardly	almost zero amount	Negative idea	It hardly rained.
hard	with great force	Positive idea	She trained hard.
hardly	almost not at all	Negative idea	She hardly trained.

The Position of "Hard" and "Hardly" in a Sentence

The position of each adverb in a sentence is different. This is important to remember.

Position of "Hard"

Hard comes after the verb (or after the object if there is one). It does not come before the verb.

✅ She works hard.
✅ He pushed the door hard.
❌ She hard works. (Incorrect word order)

Position of "Hardly"

Hardly comes before the main verb. If there is an auxiliary verb (like can, could, have, is, was), hardly comes after the auxiliary verb and before the main verb.

✅ I hardly slept.
✅ She can hardly walk.
✅ They have hardly eaten anything.
❌ I slept hardly. (Incorrect — this sounds very unnatural)

Common Expressions with "Hardly"

There are some very common expressions in English that use hardly. It is useful to learn these as fixed phrases.

Hardly ever

Hardly ever means almost never. It is used to talk about things that happen very rarely.

• I hardly ever eat fast food. (= I almost never eat it.)
• She hardly ever calls me. (= She very rarely calls.)

Hardly any

Hardly any means almost no / almost none. It is used before nouns.

• There is hardly any time left. (= Almost no time.)
• He has hardly any money. (= Almost no money.)

Hardly anything

Hardly anything means almost nothing.

• She ate hardly anything at dinner. (= She ate almost nothing.)
• I know hardly anything about him. (= Almost nothing.)

Hardly anyone

Hardly anyone means almost no people.

• Hardly anyone came to the meeting. (= Almost no one came.)
• He knows hardly anyone in the new city.

Important Differences and Special Cases

"Hardly" is Already Negative — Do Not Add "Not"

Because hardly already has a negative meaning, you must not use it with another negative word like not, never, nobody, nothing. Using two negatives together is a grammar mistake in standard English.

❌ I don't hardly know him.
✅ I hardly know him.

❌ She never hardly goes out.
✅ She hardly ever goes out.

"Hard" as an Adjective vs. "Hard" as an Adverb

Hard can be both an adjective and an adverb. The form does not change. You need to look at its position and meaning in the sentence to understand which one it is.

• This is a hard exam. → Here, hard is an adjective. It describes the noun exam.
• She studied hard for the exam. → Here, hard is an adverb. It describes the verb studied.

"Hardily" is Not the Same as "Hardly"

Be careful: hardily is a real word, but it is very different from hardly. Hardily means in a tough or robust way and is rarely used in everyday English. At B1 level, you do not need to use hardily. Focus on hard and hardly.

Mini Story: Spot the Difference

Read this short story and notice how hard and hardly are used:

Tom wants to become a professional chef. He works hard in the restaurant kitchen every day. He practises new recipes hard every weekend. But he hardly has time to relax. He hardly ever sees his friends. There is hardly any food in his fridge because he is always at work. Still, he tries hard because he loves cooking. He can hardly wait to open his own restaurant one day.

Notice:

• Works hard / practises hard / tries hard → He puts in a lot of effort. Positive meaning.
• Hardly has / hardly ever sees / hardly any / can hardly wait → Almost not / almost never. Negative or near-zero meaning.

Common Mistakes

Here are the most common errors that learners make when using hard and hardly:

❌ She studied hardly for the exam.
✅ She studied hard for the exam. (She put in a lot of effort.)

❌ I hard ever go to parties.
✅ I hardly ever go to parties. (= I almost never go.)

❌ He works hardly.
✅ He works hard. ("Hardly" cannot follow the verb like this.)

❌ I don't hardly understand this.
✅ I hardly understand this. ("Hardly" is already negative. Do not add "don't".)

❌ There is hardly no money left.
✅ There is hardly any money left. (Use "any" after "hardly", not "no".)

❌ She can hardly not hear you.
✅ She can hardly hear you. (Do not mix "hardly" with "not".)

❌ He tried very hardly to pass the test.
✅ He tried very hard to pass the test. ("Hard" is the correct adverb here; "hardly" changes the meaning completely.)

Adverbs with Different Meanings — Hard and Hardly: Quick Summary

Here is a quick review of everything you have learned in this lesson:

Point	Hard	Hardly
Meaning	With great effort / force / energy	Almost not / almost never / almost none
Positive or negative?	Positive idea	Negative idea
Position	After the verb	Before the main verb (after auxiliary)
Use with "not"?	Can be used with "not" normally	Never use with "not" — it is already negative
Common phrases	work hard, try hard, rain hard	hardly ever, hardly any, hardly anything

Key Rules to Remember

• Hard = with a lot of effort or force (positive). It goes after the verb.
• Hardly = almost not / almost never (negative). It goes before the main verb.
• Never add a second negative word with hardly (no "not", "never", or "no").
• Use hardly any (not "hardly no") before nouns.
• Use hardly ever (not "hard ever") to mean "almost never".

Now practise adverbs with different meanings — hard and hardly in the exercises below.