Hardly or Hard

Hardly is not the adverb of hard. Hardly means very little, almost none.
Hard means difficult.

  • ‘How much money have we got?’ ‘Hardly any.’
    (Very little, almost none.)
  • The test was very hard.
    (difficult)
  • I need to go to the shops, there is hardly anything in the cupboard.
  • It was very hard for me to sleep last night.