区别辨析hardly、scarcely与barely

hardly、scarcely与barely这些副词均含“几乎不”之意。

hardly : 指接近最低限度,差不多没有多余,强调困难和程度。

  • I could hardly hear her at the back.
    我在后面几乎听不见她说什么。
  • The party had hardly started when she left.
    她离开的时候聚会才刚刚开始。
  • He hardly ate anything/He ate hardly anything.
    他几乎什么都没吃。

scarcely : 指不太充分,不太够,不足,不能令人满意,强调数量。

  • I was scarcely able to move my arm after the accident.
    那场事故以后,我的手臂几乎不能动了。
  • I could scarcely believe it when she said she wanted to marry me.
    当她说想要跟我结婚时,我简直无法相信。

barely : 指仅仅够,一点不多,强调没有多余。

  • They have barely enough (= no more than what is needed) to pay the rent this month.
    他们本月差点就付不起房租。
  • She was barely (= only just) 15 when she won her first championship.
    她首次获得冠军时刚刚15岁。