Common Mistakes : Hardly

adverb

.BAD: I tried hardly to remember where I had parked the car
.GOOD: I tried hard to remember where I had parked the car

.BAD: It was raining hardly and we all got wet
.GOOD: It was raining hard and we all got wet

.BAD: Society shouldn’t punish these people too hardly
.GOOD: Society shouldn’t punish these people too hard/severely

: hardly = scarcely; almost not
.It was hardly raining at all
.I could hardly believe my eyes

: hard
: N1. with a lot of effort
..If you work hard, you’re bound to pass
: N2. heavily or severely
.The authorities are coming down hard on tax evasion
: Before a past participle, use severely for this meaning
.If they are caught, they will be severely punished

.BAD: It was so dark that we hardly could see
.GOOD: It was so dark that we could hardly see

.BAD: There were hardly no trees left, just bare rocky land
.GOOD: There were hardly any trees left, just bare rocky land

.BAD: When we arrived at the hotel, we couldn’t hardly believe our eyes
.GOOD: When we arrived at the hotel, we could hardly believe our eyes