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




Unit 101; Part A


galka.jpgGood / 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


galka.jpgFast / 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

galka.jpgHardly
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)

101.1.jpgYou 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

flag.jpgPut in good or well.
Key.2    good
3    well
4    good
5    well
6    well (good is also possible here)
7    well
8    good
9    well
10  good
11  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 ________.

flag.jpgComplete these sentences using well + the following words:
Key.2    well-known
3    well-kept
4    well-written
5    well-informed
6    well-dressed
7    well-paid

 
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 _________________.

flag.jpgAre the underlined words right or wrong? Correct them where necessary.
Key.2    OK
3    OK
4    hard
5    OK
6    slowly

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                   
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________

flag.jpgComplete the sentences. Use hardly + the following verbs (in the correct form):
Key.2    hardly hear
3    hardly slept
4    hardly speak
5    hardly said
6    hardly changed
7    hardly recognised

 
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.

flag.jpgComplete these sentences with hardly + any/anybody/anything/anywhere/ever.
Key.2    hardly any
3    hardly anything
4    hardly anybody/anyone
5    hardly ever
6    Hardly anybody/anyone
7    hardly anywhere
8    hardly   or   hardly ever
9    hardly any
10  hardly anything ... hardly anywhere


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.


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