Hard & Hardly; Barely & Rarely और Seldom & Rarely का प्रयोग (Explained in Hindi)

1. Hard & Hardly

Word ‘Hard’ एक adjective भी और adverb भी, जबकि word ‘hardly’ केवल एक adverb है. Word ‘Hardly’ word ‘hard’ की adverb नहीं होता. ‘Hard’ की adverb form खुद ‘hard’ ही है. Adverb के रूप में ‘hard’ का अर्थ है: ‘काफी प्रयास से कुछ किया हुआ’. इसको main verb के बाद में use किया जाता है. Adverb ‘hardly’ नकारात्मक (negative) अर्थ में use होती है; इसका अर्थ है: ‘लगभग नहीं (almost not)’ अथवा ‘मुश्किल से’. Adverb ‘hardly’ को verb के पहले use किया जाता है; जैसे

i) I studied hard for my exams but could not pass.
ii) The government is coming down hard on rape crime.
iii) There is so much noise in the other room. I can hardly hear what you are saying.
iv) The instructions are printed so small I can hardly read them.

INCORRECT: I tried hardly to find the key.
CORRECT: I tried hard to find the key.

INCORRECT: It was raining hardly and we all got wet.
CORRECT: It was raining hard and we all got wet.

INCORRECT: You must not have beaten him too hardly.
CORRECT: You must not have beaten him too hard.

NOTE-I: क्योंकि ‘hardly’ एक negative word है इसके साथ ‘not’ अथवा अन्य कोई negative word use नहीं किया जा सकता;

INCORRECT: I did not hardly know him.
CORRECT: I hardly knew him.

INCORRECT: There are hardly no mangoes left.
CORRECT: There are hardly any mangoes left.

NOTE-II: यदि आवश्यकता हो तो ‘hardly’ के use में दूसरे clause से पहले conjunction ‘when’ use किया जाता है word ‘than’ नहीं;

INCORRECT: The doctor had hardly arrived than the patient died.
CORRECT: The doctor had hardly arrived when the patient died.

NOTE-III:  ‘Hardly’ और ‘scarcely’ का एक ही अर्थ होता है और इन दोनों को एक-दूसरे के स्थान पर use किया जा सकता है. ‘Hardly’ की तरह यदि आवश्यकता हो तो ‘scarcely’ के use में भी दूसरे clause से पहले conjunction ‘when’ use किया जाता है word ‘than’ नहीं.

2. Barely & Rarely

Barely = लगभग नहीं (almost not); मुश्किल से
Rarely = लगभग कभी नहीं (almost never)

i) The fog was so thick that I barely reached my office.
ii) He rarely makes any serious mistakes.

INCORRECT: Although I am a member of the club, I barely go there.
CORRECT: Although I am a member of the club, I rarely go there.

NOTE-I: क्योंकि ‘barely’ और ‘rarely’ negative word हैं, इनके साथ ‘not’ अथवा अन्य कोई negative word use नहीं किया जा सकता; जैसे

INCORRECT: The temperature was not barely above freezing.
CORRECT: The temperature was barely above freezing.

NOTE-II: यदि आवश्यकता हो तो ‘barely’ के use में दूसरे clause से पहले conjunction ‘when’ अथवा ‘before’ use किया जाता है, ‘than’ नहीं; जैसे

INCORRECT: We had barely started the meal than Ritu arrived.
CORRECT: We had barely started the meal when Ritu arrived.

3. Seldom if  ever / Seldom or never 

‘Seldom’ और ‘ever’ के बीच में ‘if’ use होता है; और ‘seldom’ और ‘never’ के बीच में ‘or’ use होता है.  word ‘rarely’ के साथ भी ऐसा ही होता है; अर्थात ‘rarely if ever’ / ‘rarely or never’; जैसे

‘Seldom if ever’ / ‘Seldom or never’ = कभी नहीं अथवा लगभग कभी नहीं

INCORRECT: Seldom if never have I hurt you. OR Seldom or ever have I hurt you.
CORRECT: Seldom or never have I hurt you. OR Seldom if ever have I hurt you.

INCORRECT: It is rarely if never used that way. OR It is rarely or ever used that way.
CORRECT: It is rarely or never used that way. OR It is rarely, if ever, used that way.

NOTE: इसी प्रकार हम कहते हैं: ‘little or nothing’/ ‘little if anything’ (not ‘little and nothing’/ ‘little or anything’)

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Hard & Hardly; Barely & Rarely; Seldom & Rarely (Explained in English)

1. Hard & Hardly

‘Hard’ is both an adjective and an adverb, whereas ‘hardly’ can only be an adverb. ‘Hardly’ is not the adverb form of the adjective ‘hard’. The adverb form of ‘hard’ is ‘hard’ itself. When ‘hard’ is an adverb, it means ‘with a lot of effort’ or ‘heavily or severely’. We use it after the main verb. ‘hardly’ has a negative meaning. It normally means ‘almost not’ or ‘only just’. We put ‘hardly’ before the verb; e.g.

i) I studied hard for my exams but could not pass.
ii) The government is coming down hard on rape crime.
iii) There is so much noise in the other room. I can hardly hear what you are saying.
iv) The instructions are printed so small I can hardly read them.

INCORRECT: I tried hardly to find the key.
CORRECT: I tried hard to find the key.

INCORRECT: It was raining hardly and we all got wet.
CORRECT: It was raining hard and we all got wet.

INCORRECT: You must not have beaten him too hardly.
CORRECT: You must not have beaten him too hard.

NOTE-I: As ‘hardly’ is a negative word we don’t use ‘not’ or any other negative words with it; e.g.

INCORRECT: I did not hardly know him.
CORRECT: I hardly knew him.

INCORRECT: There are hardly no mangoes left.
CORRECT: There are hardly any mangoes left.

NOTE-II: If needed, ‘hardly’ takes ‘when’, not ‘than’; e.g.

INCORRECT: The doctor had hardly arrived than the patient died.
CORRECT: The doctor had hardly arrived when the patient died.

NOTE-III:  ‘Hardly’ and ‘scarcely’ are the same thing and both are replaceable with each other. Like ‘hardly’, if needed we also use ‘when’ with ‘scarcely’ in the next clause.

2. Barely & Rarely

Barely = almost not; only just; Rarely = almost never; e.g.

i) The fog was so thick that I barely reached my office.
ii) He rarely makes any serious mistakes.

INCORRECT: Although I am a member of the club, I barely go there.
CORRECT: Although I am a member of the club, I rarely go there.

NOTE-I: We must not use ‘not’ with ‘barely/rarely’.

INCORRECT: The temperature was not barely above freezing.
CORRECT: The temperature was barely above freezing.

NOTE-II: You use ‘when’ or ‘before’ after barely. Don’t use ‘than’.

INCORRECT: We had barely started the meal than Ritu arrived.
CORRECT: We had barely started the meal when Ritu arrived.

3. Seldom if  ever / Seldom or never

We use ‘if’ between ‘seldom’ and ‘ever’, and ‘or’ between ‘seldom’ and ‘never’. Same is the case with ‘rarely’; e.g.

‘Seldom or never’/ ‘Seldom if ever’ = never or almost never

INCORRECT: Seldom if never have I hurt you. OR Seldom or ever have I hurt you.
CORRECT: Seldom or never have I hurt you. OR Seldom if ever have I hurt you.

INCORRECT: It is rarely if never used that way. OR It is rarely or ever used that way.
CORRECT: It is rarely or never used that way. OR It is rarely, if ever, used that way.

NOTE: Similarly we say ‘little or nothing’/ ‘little if anything’ (not ‘little and nothing’/ ‘little or anything’)

For more chapters/topics on English Grammar read the following book authored by me.

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For English Practice Sets on various topics read the following book authored by me.

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CLICK HERE TO BUY