Hardly, scarcely, barely

hardly, scarcely and barely are almost negative in meaning. hardly is chiefly used with any, ever, at all or the verb can:

He has hardly any money, (very little money)

/ hardly ever go out. (I very seldom go out.)

It hardly rained at all last summer.

Her case is so heavy that she can hardly lift it. But it can also be used with other verbs:

/ hardly know him. (I know him only very slightly.) Be careful not to confuse the adverbs hard and hardly:

He looked hard at it. (He stared at it.)

He hardly looked at it. (He gave it only a brief glance.) scarcely can mean 'almost not' and could replace hardly as used above: scarcely any/scarcely ever etc. But scarcely is chiefly used to mean 'not quite':

There were scarcely twenty people there, (probably fewer) (For hardly/scarcely with inversion, see 45 and 342 E.) barely means 'not more than/only just':

There were barely twenty people there, (only just twenty)

/ can barely see it. (I can only just see it.)

Inversion of the verb

45 Inversion of the verb after certain adverbs

Certain adverbs and adverb phrases, mostly with a restrictive or negative sense, can for emphasis be placed first in a sentence or clause and are then followed by the inverted (i.e. interrogative) form of the verb. The most important of these are shown below. The numbers indicate paragraphs where an example will be found.

hardly ever (see 38 A, C) on no account

hardly... when (342 E) only by

in no circumstances only in this way

neither/nor (112 D) only then/when

never scarcely ever

no sooner... than (342 E) scarcely... when

not only seldom

not till so (112 A)

nowhere (36 B)

/ haven't got a ticket. ~ Neither/Nor have I. 1 had never before been asked to accept a bribe. Never before had I been asked to accept a bribe. They not only rob you, they smash everything too. Not only do they rob you, they smash everything too. He didn 't realize that he had lost it till he got home. Not till he got home did he realize that he had lost it. This switch must not be touched on any account. On no account must this switch be touched. He was able to make himself heard only by shouting. Only by shouting was he able to make himself heard. He became so suspicious that... So suspicious did he become that...

Note also that a second negative verb in a sentence can sometimes be expressed by nor with inversion:

He had no money and didn't know anyone he could borrow from.

He had no money, nor did he know anyone he could borrow from.

(neither would be less usual here.)

(For adverbs and adverb phrases followed by inversion of verb and noun subject, e.g. Up went the rocket; By the door stood an armed guard, see 36 C, E, F.)