scarcely

hardly, scarcely

这一对副词都有“几乎不”、“几乎没有”的否定意味，但涵义重心有细微的差异。
hardly: 强调“困难”，指程度而言，常用以修饰表示能力的词，与can、ever、any等词连用。

• he hardly knew what to say.
  他简直不知道说什么才好。
• i can hardly believe that some socialites and dignitaries are involved in syndicated crime.
  我简直不能相信，一些社会名流，达官政要竟然涉及集团罪行。

scarcely: 强调“不足”，主要指数量而言，常与enough、sufficient、any或数词连用。

• when he played the piano he was scarcely four years old.
  他懂得弹钢琴还不满四岁。
• the tram was so crowded that there was scarcely sufficient room for you.
  电车上十分拥挤，几乎没有你立足之地。
• at midnight，scarcely any taxi could be found in the streets.
  午夜时分，街上几乎看不到一辆的士。

副词 scarcely:

1. by a small margin- W.B.Yeats
   同义词：barely, hardly, just, scarce
2. almost not
   同义词：hardly

1. They eke out a bare existence (ie They scarcely manage) on his low salary.
   他们靠他微薄的薪金勉强　口。
2. The speaker said almost nothing (ie scarcely anything) worth listening to.
   那个发言人说的话简直没有一句值得听。
3. He spoke scarcely a word of English.
   他几乎连一个英文单词都不会说。
4. Scarcely had he arrived when he had to leave again.
   他刚刚到达就不得不又离开。