AEE 2459: Grammar That Breaks the Rules Part 3: Hardly Fair or Fairly Hard?

Summary

All Ears English Podcast
Episode 2459: Grammar That Breaks the Rules Part 3: Hardly Fair or Fairly Hard?
Release Date: August 12, 2025
Hosts: Lindsay McMahon and Aubrey Carter

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Introduction

In Episode 2459 of the All Ears English Podcast, hosts Lindsay McMahon and Aubrey Carter delve into the fascinating intricacies of English grammar, specifically focusing on adjectives that seemingly break conventional rules when transformed into adverbs with the suffix "-ly." This episode, the third in a three-part series titled "Grammar That Breaks the Rules," explores how certain words do not follow the expected patterns, posing challenges for English learners aiming to achieve fluency and nuance in their language use.

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Overview of the Series

This episode concludes a series that examines exceptions to standard grammar rules, particularly the addition of "-ly" to adjectives to form adverbs. The hosts emphasize that while many adjectives become adverbs with similar meanings when "-ly" is added (e.g., "slow" to "slowly"), there are notable exceptions where the meanings diverge significantly.

Aubrey Carter (01:44):
"It's easy to assume that the words fair and fairly mean the same thing, but are simply different parts of speech. But think again. Listen in to get the truth today."
(Aubrey Carter, 01:44)

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Main Discussion: Words That Break the Rules

The hosts focus on three primary examples where adding "-ly" alters the meaning of the original adjective in unexpected ways:

1. Late vs. Lately

Lindsey McMahon (04:05):
"What have you been up to lately? So I'm not talking about arriving on time here or time. It's just something that happened in the near past."
(Lindsey McMahon, 04:05)

• Late: Primarily an adjective or adverb indicating a delay or being after the expected time.

  Example:
  "She arrived late to the meeting and missed the introduction."

• Lately: An adverb meaning "recently" or "in the near past," with no relation to time punctuality.

  Example:
  "What have you been up to lately?"

Key Insight: English learners often confuse "late" and "lately," mistakenly associating the two due to their similar spellings. The hosts advise focusing on context to discern the correct usage.

2. Fair vs. Fairly

Aubrey Carter (05:35):
"Fair is an adjective meaning like light in color. And then it's also used to describe something being just so. This has a couple of different meanings, which is tricky."
(Aubrey Carter, 05:35)

• Fair: An adjective that can describe physical appearance (e.g., light in color) or denote justice and impartiality.

  Example:
  "The judge made a fair decision based on the evidence."

• Fairly: An adverb meaning "moderately" or "reasonably," not directly related to the concept of justice.

  Example:
  "The exam was fairly easy, but a few questions were tricky."

Key Insight: Adding "-ly" to "fair" does not retain its connotation of justice. Instead, "fairly" adjusts the degree of the adjective, often implying moderation. This distinction is crucial for conveying the intended meaning accurately.

3. Hard vs. Hardly

Aubrey Carter (07:10):
"Hard has a couple of different meanings. Either with effort. Right. Difficult. Or also solid."
(Aubrey Carter, 07:10)

• Hard: An adjective describing something solid or requiring significant effort.

  Examples:
  "The ground was hard, making it difficult to plant anything."
  "She works hard to keep up with her responsibilities."

• Hardly: An adverb meaning "scarcely" or "barely," indicating a minimal amount or degree.

  Example:
  "I could hardly hear what he was saying over the noise."

Key Insight: "Hard" and "hardly" carry distinct meanings, and substituting one for the other can lead to misunderstandings. Recognizing this difference helps in expressing scarcity versus intensity.

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Engaging Role-Play Scenario

To illustrate the practical application of these grammatical nuances, Lindsay and Aubrey engage in a role-play scenario between two university students meeting for coffee. This interactive segment demonstrates how the correct usage of "hard," "hardly," "fair," "fairly," "late," and "lately" can enhance conversation clarity.

Excerpt from Role-Play:

Aubrey Carter (10:03):
"That's fair. I know it's become a pattern. I've been working hard, trying to keep up with everything, and sometimes I lose track of time."
(Aubrey Carter, 10:03)

Lindsey McMahon (10:17):
"I figured you were pretty busy. You hardly respond to texts anymore."
(Lindsey McMahon, 10:17)

Analysis:

• "Working hard" conveys significant effort.
• "Hardly respond" indicates infrequent communication.
• The dialogue showcases how subtle differences in word choice can convey precise meanings and emotions.

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Recap of Previous Episodes

The hosts remind listeners of the preceding parts of the series, encouraging them to explore these foundational lessons to fully grasp the complexities of English grammar.

• Part One: Adjectives That End in -ly
  Episode 2444
  Examines adjectives that retain their meaning after adding "-ly," such as "friendly."

• Part Two: Noun Nonsense
  Episode 2450
  Explores instances where adding "-ly" transforms adjectives into nouns, rather than adverbs.

Lindsey McMahon (15:22):
"Today we highlighted three words that mean something different than you would expect when adding '-ly.' Don't miss parts one and two of this series."
(Lindsey McMahon, 15:22)

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Final Takeaways

The episode concludes with key lessons for English learners aiming to master these tricky grammatical exceptions:

1. Context is Crucial: Understanding how words are used in sentences helps determine their intended meanings.
2. Avoid Assumptions: Do not rely solely on the "-ly" suffix to infer adverbial forms; exceptions exist.
3. Engage with Examples: Regularly practicing with real-life sentences enhances comprehension and retention.
4. Continuous Learning: Revisiting and reviewing previous episodes solidifies the learning process.

Aubrey Carter (15:44):
"Don't assume that words ending in -ly are adverbs or that they mean exactly what you would expect because today's three mean something different than you would expect."
(Aubrey Carter, 15:44)

Lindsey McMahon (15:58):
"We learn these things in context so we fully understand them. We learn them in conversation. And that is the way to really build that connection."
(Lindsey McMahon, 15:58)

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Conclusion

Episode 2459 of the All Ears English Podcast offers valuable insights into the idiosyncrasies of English grammar, particularly focusing on adjectives that defy standard rules when transformed into adverbs. Through clear explanations, engaging role-plays, and practical examples, Lindsay McMahon and Aubrey Carter provide listeners with the tools to navigate these complexities confidently. By emphasizing the importance of context and continuous practice, the hosts empower English learners to achieve greater fluency and naturalness in their language use.

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Additional Resources:

• Previous Episodes in the Series:

  • Grammar That Breaks the Rules Part 1: Adjectives That End in -ly (Episode 2444)
  • Grammar That Breaks the Rules Part 2: Noun Nonsense (Episode 2450)

• English Level Assessment:
  Take a two-minute quiz to determine your current English level.

• Subscribe and Connect:
  Join the All Ears English community to continue improving your American English through engaging conversations and expert tips. Subscribe on your preferred podcast platform to stay updated with new episodes.

Transcript

[Lindsey McMahon]

This is an All Ears English podcast. Episode 2459, grammar that breaks the rules. Part three. Hardly fair or fairly hard. Welcome to the All Ears English podcast. Downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection with your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz and Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, usa. To get real time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try the Allears English app for iOS and Android. Start your seven day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward/app.

[Aubrey Carter]

It's easy to assume that the words fair and fairly mean the same thing, but are simply different parts of speech. But think again. Listen in to get the truth today. Are you still translating from your native language into English in your head? Are you always getting confused between the different grammar tenses? Let's figure out what you need to work on. Find your current English level with our five minute [e-mail] fluency score.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Hey there, Aubrey. How's it going today?

[Aubrey Carter]

I'm great. How are you, Lindsay?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Good. Aubrey, what is something that you've done recently that you expected to be fairly hard and then it turned out to be fairly easy?

[Aubrey Carter]

Ooh.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Or vice versa.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, or vice versa. I played this new game called board ball. I had never heard of it before. It's sort of a volleyball game where there's kind of a flat square board. I think it's pretty new. And you're playing volleyball with a part. It's just four people, sort of like spike ball but volleyball. And you kind of hit the volleyball and I expected it to be fairly easy. I play volleyball. But it was hard. It was fairly hard. It's definitely kind of different skills and you're having to move around really quickly. So very fun. But it's fairly hard.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Super interesting. I love that. Yeah, you never know. You never know. Something looks easy, it turns out to be hard.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly. This happens a lot.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, for sure. Well, today we're here for part three of a three part series. But they can be listened to out of order these episodes. Right, Aubry?

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly right. We'll give you the names and episode numbers for part one and part two at the end. So hit, follow and then you can definitely listen to these out of order. They're all about interesting ways. Part one was about adjectives and then part two a little more about now. But they're all related. Breaking kind of that rule in English where if you add ly, it should become an adverb and it should be similar to the adjective. That doesn't always the case.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I know. So hit the follow button now and then at the end, like Aubrey said, we'll give you those names. I have heard students make this mistake because we want to assume it seems natural and normal. I would do it in Spanish that we assume, for example, that late and lately carry the same meanings.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right, Exactly. Right. So today we're sharing the top three adverbs. Where there is an adjective that exists and so you would expect to add ly, this should become an adverb with a similar meaning. Like slow and slowly. Right. The adjective, the adverb have very similar meanings. These words. That's not the case. We add ly, it becomes an adverb with a totally different meaning.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, my gosh. All right, Well, I am excited to get into the three that we're going to highlight today that are really dangerous. Right. If we assume the mean and not dangerous, but they're just common mistakes.

[Aubrey Carter]

Common mistakes. These can trip you up. Yes. I'm excited for you to know about all of these.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. So let's go into the first one. I mentioned it a few minutes ago. Late and lately.

[Aubrey Carter]

Let's talk about. Exactly.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

So first, late is an adjective. Right. She arrived. It can also be an adverb. So as an adverb, she arrived late to the meeting and missed the introduction. But then we add ly, and it has a very different meaning.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. And I could say it just means recently. Right. The meaning is recent, recently. So what have you been up to lately? So I'm not talking about arriving on time here or time. It's just something that happened in the near past.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly. So the pro tip here is when you hear the word lately every time, think recently, in the recent past. Right. You have to forget that the word late has anything to do with late in the day. Late time lately is not related to the word late.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And a pro tip, this is a really good way to connect this question. It's very simple, but it's really common. Right. What have you been up to lately? How have you been lately?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes, we ask this a lot. And you could definitely see English learners thinking, you mean, you know, maybe, what did you do yesterday, late at night? Or what are you doing? Right. If you hear that word late and you're used to the adjective, you need to know that lately means recently means like maybe what did you do last weekend? What have you been doing recently, if someone says, what have you been up to lately?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes, I love that. All right, so that is the first one that our listeners are no longer going to make this mistake. What would be the next one, Aubrey?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, the next one is fair and fairly so. Fair is an adjective meaning like light in color. And then it's also used to describe something being just so. This has a couple of different meanings, which is tricky. You might say the judge made a fair decision based on the evidence. Right. It means it was just.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And when we add an ly, it does have. It has nothing to do with justice.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right, Exactly. This is so tricky. It's an adverb that means moderately, reasonably. Right. To a reasonable extent.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Right. Which really isn't related to justice. I guess you could make an argument it is, but it's really not. Right. So, for example, the exam was fairly easy, but a few questions were tricky and people use this a lot. Fairly, right.

[Aubrey Carter]

Absolutely right. We'll often say pretty, too. We're like, this is pretty easy. It was pretty easy. It's fairly easy. But yeah, this is very different than the. There are a couple of different meanings for fair, but you can't assume. You add an ly and it has a really similar meaning to fair. It really means closer to moderately, Reasonably.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Moderately tricky. Tricky, tricky. All right, there is a third. And what is it, Aubrey?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, Hard and hardly. So hard has a couple different meanings. Either with effort. Right. Difficult. Or also solid. Right. Hard ground. Solid ground. Like the ground was hard. So it took me forever to dig a hole to plant flowers. This is the case in Arizona. The ground is rock solid. If you need to dig a hole to plant anything, you're going to be working at digging that hole for a while, soaking the ground.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I found that out. I think it's the same in Utah, too. I found that out at Bryce Cannon. I tried to camp there and I tried to put my tent into the ground. I was alone camping on my road trip around the US Right. I was like, I don't think I can camp because I can't get these stakes into the ground. It was incredible.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, you're bent. I've bent so many stakes trying to hammer them into really solid ground. And the steak just bends instead of going into the ground.

[Lindsey McMahon]

How do you even do it? There must be special tents for the. The West. The.

[Aubrey Carter]

We have better stakes, right? It's all about the stakes. Those flimsy, skinny metal stakes don't hack it out here. Don't have these, like thick, sharp, thick ones that are sharp. At the end, that will hammer right into the ground.

[Lindsey McMahon]

That's what I needed.

[Aubrey Carter]

Okay.

[Lindsey McMahon]

That wet grass, that humid grass.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right. All right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

So hard ground. The ground is hard. And then when we use hardly as an adverb, it means scarcely or almost. Not almost.

[Aubrey Carter]

Very different meaning. Right. Has nothing to do with the meaning of the adjective. So, for example, I could hardly hear what he was saying over the noise, which means I almost couldn't hear. I could barely hear. I could scarcely hear.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Barely.

[Aubrey Carter]

Scarcely.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Hardly. Love those three together. Right? Yeah. Tricky. All right, we're gonna take a break, and then we're gonna come back and see this. Okay, Good. Hiring is hard. You have to be sure you ask the right questions, sort through all of the details, and find your star candidate who will really help move your business forward. That's why when I hire, I like to use all the best tools, and that includes Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other job sites. Indeed sponsor Jobs helps you stand out and hire fast. With sponsored Jobs, your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. We found one of our best team members on Indeed, and it made the process fast, approachable, and just a little less overwhelming. There's no need to wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed, and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more [e-mail] AEE just go to indeed.com a e e right now and support our show by saying that you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com AEE terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. Okay, Aubry. Role play time. We are university students. We're meeting up for coffee, right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. Perfect. We'll see if we can use all of these. All right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay.

[Aubrey Carter]

Sorry I'm late again.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, no worries. I've come to expect it.

[Aubrey Carter]

That's fair. I know it's become a pattern. I've been working hard, trying to keep up with everything, and sometimes I lose track of time.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I figured you were pretty busy. You hardly respond to texts anymore.

[Aubrey Carter]

I just have no time. I'm doing fairly well in my classes, but if I let up, I'm not going to pass. Ochem.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Well, be careful. If all you do is study, you'll feel like you're hardly living.

[Aubrey Carter]

This is an interesting conversation. We do this sometimes. Where? And this is interesting. Sometimes you'll be trying to give advice. You want to give advice, and then you find that your advice is actually sort of just critical of the choices someone is making. This happens. Right. It's typical to not do that. Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

It's a little too direct. Someone else unrelated needs to be giving that advice to you.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And not someone that's kind of like being stood up and waiting. Waiting for you to arrive. Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

That's funny. It's clear that I've been late many times. You're a little testy about it. Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

There's a little passive aggressive tone there. Right, true. All right, so you started by saying, sorry, I'm late. Very, you know, common phrase again.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right. She means like I was supposed to be on time, I was not. But then it is interesting. You said, no worries, I've come to, to expect it. This is maybe something I would say to a sister or very close friends. Maybe we're good friends and you're sort of being facetious. You're sort of poking fun at me. Joking. Like you're always late. You're passive aggressively letting me know like this is happening too often but in a more light hearted way than you could do.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. It's kind of like when something like this happens, you kind of, you need to call it out in a way. This is a way to do it so you're not being too serious about it. Right, Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

You could say same old, same old. Would be another way. Would say like, this is just you. I'm used to it. I actually only got here a minute ago. I gave you a late time.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe I, I'd expect nothing less. Right. No worries. I'd expect nothing less.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right. You're just letting him know, like this is. I've come to expect you being late and it's not the end of the world.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. And then so you said, no worries, I've come to expect it. And you said, that's fair. Right. We, I think we've done an episode recently on Fair.

[Aubrey Carter]

We talked about this, how, you know, we'll. And sometimes we'll just say fair to end, you know, or fair enough. Yeah, that was a great episode. Scroll up if you missed that one. But this is a good response. Right. When someone's like, I've come to expect it, you say that's fair. It means like it's a fair assessment of my behavior I'm recognizing. I know I've been late a lot and then now I'm going to give my excuses.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. And then you said, I've been working hard, trying to keep up with everything and sometimes I lose track of time.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. Interestingly, this is A yet another meaning of the word hard. Right, we talked about it. Meaning difficult and also like hard, solid ground. But this working hard means putting in a lot of effort. Like working to an extreme amount. Either a lot of time or a lot of effort. It's another way that we use hard.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes, exactly, exactly. And then I said, we're coming in with the hardly here. Right. So we said, I figured you were pretty busy. You hardly respond to texts anymore. Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

And this meaning never. Really? Almost never. Right. You hardly respond to text. Maybe I respond to like 1 in 10. So you would say you hardly respond to texts.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. And then you said, I have no time. I'm doing fairly well in my classes, meeting moderately well, relatively well.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right, exactly. But if I let up, I'm not going to pass. Okam. That stands for organic chemistry. Some of these, you know, shortcuts that we use for classes. Okay.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes, yes. Did you have to take O Chem in college?

[Aubrey Carter]

I did not. I had like a literary degree, so I did have to take a couple of natural sciences just as part of my, of my general electives, but not O Chem. What about you? Yeah.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, no, no, I never took organic chemistry. No, thank you. I think it was more for people that were on the pre med track, you know, science tracks. I took bio 101, which was hard in college.

[Aubrey Carter]

It was really hard. I had to take bio 101 and it was really difficult. I took a geology class that I loved. We did some fun field trips in Utah to like.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, that sounds really rocks.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, that was cool.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Very cool. So then the last line. What did I say? Aubry.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, let's see. Well, be careful. If all you do is study, you'll feel like you're hardly living. So that again, just meaning, like not much at all. Barely. You're barely living.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Love it. Love it. Yeah. So here it's very clear that these do not mean the same thing when we make it an adverb. So just being aware of this is the key to getting to that C1, C2 level.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right, exactly. Right, yes. I'm so glad we were able to do this series to point out, because sometimes you'll think of something as a grammar rule. Like this, words that end in ly are usually adverbs, so you might assume they're adverbs and usually they have a similar meaning to the adjective that's similar, like slow and slowly. Usually that's the case, but there are quite a few exceptions. So this series highlighted in part one, it was episode 2444, grammar that breaks the rules, part one, adjectives that end in ly. So this is. Sometimes we add ly to a word and it's still an adjective.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, boy. Oh boy. And then there was. 2450 was part two, grammar that breaks the rules, part two, noun. Nonsense. I love that title. That is.

[Aubrey Carter]

It was fun. And this is tricky. This is when we add ly to a word and it actually becomes a noun. So definitely scroll up so you don't miss the part one and two of this series.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, and final takeaway. Aubrey, where should we leave our listeners on the series?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, so I think the pro tip is don't assume that ends. Words that end in ly are an adverb or that they mean exactly what you would expect them to mean because today's three mean something different than you would expect.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yep. We learn these things in context so we fully understand them. We learn them in conversation. And that is the way to really build that connection. All right.

[Aubrey Carter]

Love it.

[Lindsey McMahon]

So good. Aubrey, you have a nice rest of your. Your day. I'll see you very soon.

[Aubrey Carter]

You too. Thanks, Lindsay.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, bye. Thanks for listening. To all ears. English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz, go to allearsenglish.com forward/fluencyscore. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.