COULDN'T HARDLY

Someone recently used the phrase "couldn't hardly". It transported me back in time: I recall my teacher Miss Digman physically recoiling when a classmate said it! I knew at the time that it was incorrect usage, and that I undoubtedly would never say or write it in my lifetime, but that vision of Miss Digman's reaction is indelibly etched in my brain and has kept me vigilant!

Adverbs such as hardly, rarely, scarcely, barely, and seldom should not be used in the same clause with a negative as it creates a double negative. Adverbs which suggest "few", "little" and "not often" should not be used with a negative.

A friend quizzed my using "were" instead of "was" in a sentence, "If that were the case....." Of course I know that "if" in that sentence requires the subjunctive mood and "were" is correct, but my friend said it sound "stilted"! Although pleased with her use of the word "stilted", I replied, "It sounds correct, as it were!" My brothers and I laugh and imitate our teacher Mr. Kelley when we use the subjunctive mood, as Mr. Kelley would often say "As it were."

I'm glad to have had some good teachers!

See the American Heritage Dictionary definition of "hardly" HERE.