Page 214 - English Grammar in Use

Unit Adjectives and adverbs 2
101 (well, fast, late, hard/hardly)

A good and well
Good is an adjective. The adverb is well:
Your English is good. but You speak English well.
Sophie is a good pianist. but Sophie plays the piano well.
We use well (not good) with past participles (known/educated etc.). For example:
well-known well-educated well-paid well-behaved
Sophie’s father is a well-known writer.

Well is also an adjective meaning ‘in good health’:
‘How are you today?’ ‘I’m very well, thanks.’

B fast, hard and late
These words are both adjectives and adverbs:
adjective adverb
Darren is a fast runner. Darren can run fast.
It’s hard to find a job right now. Kate works hard. (not works hardly)
Sorry I’m late. I got up late.
lately = recently:
Have you seen Kate lately?

C hardly
hardly = very little, almost not:
Sarah wasn’t very friendly at the party. She hardly spoke to me.
(= she spoke to me very little)
We’ve only met once or twice. We hardly know each other.
Compare hard and hardly:

He tried hard to find a job, but he had no luck. (= he tried a lot, with a lot of effort)
I’m not surprised he didn’t find a job. He hardly tried. (= he tried very little)
Hardly goes before the verb:
We hardly know each other. (not We know each other hardly)
I can hardly do something = it’s very difficult for me, almost impossible:

Your writing is terrible. I can hardly read it. (= it is almost impossible to read it)
My leg was hurting. I could hardly walk.

D You can use hardly + any/anybody/anyone/anything/anywhere: There’s hardly anything
a: How much money do we have? in the fridge.
B: Hardly any. (= very little, almost none)
These two cameras are very similar. There’s hardly any
difference between them.

The exam results were bad. Hardly anybody in our
class passed. (= very few students passed)
She was very quiet. She said hardly anything. or
She hardly said anything.
hardly ever = almost never:
I’m nearly always at home in the evenings. I hardly ever go out.
Hardly also means ‘certainly not’. For example:
It’s hardly surprising that you’re tired. You haven’t slept for three days.
(= it’s certainly not surprising)
The situation is serious, but it’s hardly a crisis. (= it’s certainly not a crisis)

202 Adjectives after verbs (‘You look tired’ etc.) ➜ Unit 99C Adjectives and adverbs 1 ➜ Unit 100