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。 - We hardly ever (= almost never) go to concerts.
我们几乎从不去听音乐会。 - Hardly had a moment passed before the door creaked open.
没过一会儿，门就吱扭一声打开了。
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。
