barely
adverb /ˈbeəli/
/ˈberli/
- He could barely read and write.
- The music was barely audible.
- She was barely able to stand.
- We barely had time to catch the train.
- She barely acknowledged his presence.
- There was barely any smell.
- Barely 50% of the population voted.
- He was barely 20 years old and already running his own company.
- They arrived barely a minute later.
- only a very short time before
- I had barely started speaking when he interrupted me.
Grammar Point hardly / scarcely / barely / no soonerhardly / scarcely / barely / no sooner- Hardly, scarcely and barely can all be used to say that something is only just true or possible. They are used with words like any and anyone, with adjectives and verbs, and are often placed between can, could, have, be, etc. and the main part of the verb:
- They have sold scarcely any copies of the book.
- I barely recognized her.
- His words were barely audible.
- I can hardly believe it.
- I hardly can believe it.
- Hardly, scarcely and barely are negative words and should not be used with not or other negatives:
- I can’t hardly believe it.
- You can also use hardly, scarcely and barely to say that one thing happens immediately after another:
- We had hardly/scarcely/barely sat down at the table, when the doorbell rang.
- Hardly/Scarcely had we sat down at the table, when the doorbell rang.
- I scarcely had time to ring the bell before the door opened.
- No sooner had we sat down at the table than the doorbell rang.
- Hardly and scarcely can be used to mean ‘almost never’, but barely is not used in this way:
- She hardly (ever) sees her parents these days.
- She barely sees her parents these days.