scarcely

Everyday

1. Scarcely means hardly, almost not at all: «I could scarcely see» means I could only just see. tree →
2. Scarcely … when means that one thing happened almost straight after another. tree →
3. Scarcely can mean surely not: «You can scarcely blame him». tree →

In the lessons

In stories and the formal voice it shows something only just happened or almost did not happen. In reading tests pupils must notice it is a negative word: «scarcely any» means almost none. Phrases: «scarcely any», «scarcely ever», «could scarcely believe», «had scarcely … when».

Examples

• It was so foggy that we could scarcely see the road. tree →
• There was scarcely any milk left. tree →
• I could scarcely believe my eyes. tree →
• We had scarcely sat down when the fire alarm rang. tree →
• She scarcely ever watches TV. tree →
• The baby is scarcely a week old. tree →
• You can scarcely blame him for being tired. tree →
• I scarcely know how I feel." tree →

Note

Adverb from «scarce». It already has a negative meaning, so do not add «not»: «I could scarcely hear», not «I couldn't scarcely hear». In word problems «scarcely any» means almost zero. Formal inverted order: «Scarcely had we arrived when …».