Unit 101. Adjectives and adverbs 2 (well / fast / late, hard / hardly)

Unit 101; Part A

Good / well
Good is an adjective. The adverb is well:
•    Your English is good.       but    You speak English well.
•    Susan is a good pianist.    but    Susan plays the piano well.

We use well (not good) with past participles (dressed/known etc.):
         well-dressed        well-known        well-educated       well-paid
•    Gary's father is a well-known writer.

But well is also an adjective with the meaning 'in good health':
•    'How are you today?    'I'm very well, thanks.'

Unit 101; Part B

Fast / hard / late
These words are both adjectives and adverbs:

   adjective
•    Darren is a very fast runner.
•    Kate is a hard worker.
•    I was late.

    adverb
•    Darren can run very fast.
•    Kate works hard. (not works hardly)
•    I got up late this morning.

Lately = recently:
• Have you seen Tom lately?

Unit 101; Part C

Hardly
Hardly = very little, almost not. Study these examples:
•    Sarah wasn't very friendly at the party. She hardly spoke to me. (= she spoke to me very little, almost not at all)
•    We've only met once or twice. We hardly know each other.

Hard and hardly are different. Compare:
•    He tried hard to find a job, but he had no luck. (= he tried a lot, with a lot of effort)
•    I'm not surprised he didn't find a job. He hardly tried to find one. (= he tried very little)

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You can use hardly + any/anybody/anyone/anything/anywhere:
•    A: How much money have we got?
        B: Hardly any. (= very little, almost none)
•    These two cameras are very similar. There's hardly any difference between them.
•    The exam results were very bad. Hardly anybody in our class passed. (= very few students passed)

Note that you can say:
•    She said hardly anything.    or    She hardly said anything.
•    We've got hardly any money.    or    We've hardly got any money.

I can hardly do something = it's very difficult for me, almost impossible:
•    Your writing is terrible. I can hardly read it. (= it is almost impossible to read it)
•    My leg was hurting me. I could hardly walk.

Hardly ever= almost never:
•    I'm nearly always at home in the evenings. I hardly ever go out.

Hardly also means 'certainly not'. For example:
•    It's hardly surprising that you're tired. You haven't slept for three days. (= it's certainly not surprising)
•    The situation is serious, but it's hardly a crisis. (= it's certainly not a crisis)

Exercises

1 Put in good or well.

Put in good or well.

1    I play tennis but I'm not very      good    .
2    Your exam results were very ________.
3    You did ________ in your exams.
4    The weather was ________ while we were on holiday.
5    I didn't sleep ________ last night.
6    How are you? Are you ________?
7    Lucy speaks German very ________.
8    Lucy's German is very ________.
9    Our new business isn't doing very ________ at the moment.
10 I like your hat. It looks ________ on you.
11 I've met her a few times, but I don't know her ________.

2 Complete these sentences using well + the following words.

Complete these sentences using well + the following words:

~~behaved~~ dressed informed kept known paid written

1    The children were very good. They were   well-behaved .
2    I'm surprised you haven't heard of her. She is quite _________________.
3    Our neighbours' garden is neat and tidy. It is very _________________.
4    I enjoyed the book you lent me. It's a great story and it's very _________________.
5    Tania knows a lot about many things. She is very _________________.
6    Mark's clothes are always smart. He is always _________________.
7    Jane has a lot of responsibility in her job, but she isn't very _________________.

3 Are the underlined words right or wrong? Correct them where necessary.

Are the underlined words right or wrong? Correct them where necessary.

1    I'm tired because I've been working hard.
2    I tried hard to remember her name, but I couldn't.
3    This coat is practically unused. I've hardly worn it.
4    Judy is a good tennis player. She hits the ball hardly.
5    Don't walk so fast! I can't keep up with you.
6    I had plenty of time, so I was walking slow.

OK
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________

4 Complete the sentences.

Complete the sentences. Use hardly + the following verbs (in the correct form):

change hear ~~know~~ recognise say sleep speak

1    Scott and Tracy have only met once before. They    hardly known    each other.
2    You're speaking very quietly. I can ______________ you.
3    I'm very tired this morning. I ______________ last night.
4    We were so shocked when we heard the news, we could ______________.
5    Kate was very quiet this evening. She ______________ a word.
6    You look the same now as you looked 15 years ago. You've ______________.
7    I met Dave a few days ago. I hadn't seen him for a long time and he looks very different now. I ______________ him.

5 Complete these sentences with hardly + any/anybody/anything/anywhere/ever.

Complete these sentences with hardly + any/anybody/anything/anywhere/ever.

1    I'll have to go shopping. There's    hardly anything    to eat.
2    It was a very warm day and there was __________________ wind.
3    'Do you know much about computers?'    'No, __________________.'
4    The hotel was almost empty. There was __________________ staying there.
5    I listen to the radio quite often, but I __________________ watch television.
6    Our new boss is not very popular. __________________ likes her.
7    It was very crowded in the room. There was __________________ to sit.
8    We used to be good friends, but we __________________ see each other now.
9    It was nice driving this morning. There was __________________ traffic.
10 I hate this town. There's __________________ to do and __________________ to go.

Unit 100 Unit 101 Unit 102