Hardly / Never Hardly / Not Hardly

Certain sets of words in the English language tend to confuse people. I have found the following to be among them:

HARDLY / NEVER HARDLY / NOT HARDLY

The adverb hardly can be considered a negative since it means barely, almost not, or almost never. Therefore, the expressions never hardly and not hardly are technically double negatives and generally considered to be improper English.

INCORRECT: I never hardly go to the beach anymore.

CORRECT:  I hardly ever go to the beach anymore.

ALSO CORRECT: I hardly go to the beach anymore.

ALSO CORRECT:  I almost never go to the beach anymore.

INCORRECT:  I don’t hardly remember anything I learned in geometry class.

CORRECT:  I hardly remember anything I learned in geometry class.

ALSO CORRECT:  I remember almost nothing that I learned in geometry class.

© 2023 Ann Henry. All Rights Reserved.

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