Unit 67: SOME IMPORTANT ADVERBS

1 Really/ almost/ hardly/ just

These words can give extra information about a whole sentence.

I really like framing.
(I like it very much.)

I don't really like drywalling.
(I'm not interested in it.)

I really don't like drywalling.
(I hate it.)

I just don't like drywalling.
(Simple fact: there is nothing more to say.)

We almost finished the basement today.

We hardly had time to finish it.
(We finished it but had very little time.)

We just had time to finish it.

I hardly know you.
(I know you, but very little.)

It's just around the corner.
(It's very near the corner.)

This light is very bright.
(a fact)

This light is too bright.
(bad: it hurts my eyes)

This light is bright enough.
(OK: I can see)

This light isn't bright enough.
(bad: I can't see)

He's driving very quickly.
(a fact)

He's driving too quickly.
(bad: it is dangerous)

He's driving quickly enough.
(OK: we will be on time)

He isn't driving quickly enough.
(bad: we will be late)

He's driving too slowly = He isn't driving quickly enough.

Enough is also an adjective:

There weren't enough boards for the framers to use = There were too many framers on the jobsite.

Notice the positions:

[1] enough + [2] noun
[1] adjective + [2] enough
[1] adverb + [2] enough