Barely meaning in English
Learn how to use Barely correctly with Gymglish.
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Definition
barely: hardly, narrowly, only just, scarcely
I barely know the guy who just asked me out!' I don't know him very well at all.
I barely caught my plane! I got to the departure gate only five minutes before the plane left!
Examples
- "Day 15 : I barely have the strength to write this entry."
- "I can barely –"
- "Moira, get me a glass of water, I can barely contain my excitement."
- "San Francisco - In a move that is barely newsworthy, Industrial Fruit Concern Inc. (NASDAQ: IFC) has made a multi-billion dollar offer to acquire a local juice boutique."
- "My prices are so small you can barely see them."
- "I had barely started reading your email before I began laughing hysterically."
Exercise 1
Match each of the descriptions below with the appropriate term in the blanks.
Each term is used only once, but not all terms were used in the dialogue.
A lightly cooked piece of meat which is pink on the inside -->
A fully cooked piece of meat, cooked inside and out -->
A barely cooked piece of meat, raw and red on the inside -->
An evenly cooked piece of meat, with only a little pink on the inside -->
Each term is used only once, but not all terms were used in the dialogue.
A lightly cooked piece of meat which is pink on the inside -->
A fully cooked piece of meat, cooked inside and out -->
A barely cooked piece of meat, raw and red on the inside -->
An evenly cooked piece of meat, with only a little pink on the inside -->
Match each of the descriptions below with the appropriate term in the blanks.
Each term is used only once, but not all terms were used in the dialogue.
A lightly cooked piece of meat which is pink on the inside --> Rare 1
A fully cooked piece of meat, cooked inside and out --> Well-done 2
A barely cooked piece of meat, raw and red on the inside --> Bloody 3
An evenly cooked piece of meat, with only a little pink on the inside --> Medium 4
Each term is used only once, but not all terms were used in the dialogue.
A lightly cooked piece of meat which is pink on the inside --> Rare 1
A fully cooked piece of meat, cooked inside and out --> Well-done 2
A barely cooked piece of meat, raw and red on the inside --> Bloody 3
An evenly cooked piece of meat, with only a little pink on the inside --> Medium 4
1 Rare: Sam tells Clarence that he wants his meat "rare", which refers to meat which is cooked just a short time to retain juice and redness. A rare piece of meat is cooked lightly on the outside and is pink on the inside. Note that the term "rare" has other meanings in different contexts.
1 Bloody: "Bloody" meat is barely cooked at all. The inside of a bloody piece of meat is red and uncooked.
1 Well-done: A well-done piece of meat is well cooked, inside and out.
1 Medium: A medium piece of meat is evenly cooked, with only a bit of pink on the inside.
2 Well-done: A well-done piece of meat is well cooked, inside and out. There is no pink on the inside of the steak. Note that the expression "well done" has other meanings in different contexts.
2 Medium: A medium piece of meat is evenly cooked, with only a bit of pink on the inside.
2 Rare: A rare piece of meat is cooked lightly on the outside and is pink on the inside. Note that the term "rare" has other meanings in different contexts.
2 Bloody: "Bloody" meat is barely cooked at all. The inside of a bloody piece of meat is red and uncooked.
3 Bloody: "Bloody" meat is barely cooked at all. The inside of a bloody piece of meat is red and uncooked (raw) and is more tender than a more cooked piece of steak. Note that "bloody" has other meanings in different contexts. A "raw" piece of meat is uncooked.
3 Rare: A rare piece of meat is cooked lightly on the outside and is pink on the inside.
3 Well-done: A well-done piece of meat is well cooked, inside and out. There is no pink on the inside of the steak.
3 Medium: A medium piece of meat is evenly cooked, with only a bit of pink on the inside.
4 Medium: A medium piece of meat is evenly cooked, with only a bit of pink on the inside. One can order a steak "medium-rare" if they wish their steak to be less cooked. Note that "medium" has many other meanings in other contexts.
4 Bloody: "Bloody" meat is barely cooked at all. The inside of a bloody piece of meat is red and uncooked.
4 Rare: A rare piece of meat is cooked lightly on the outside and is pink on the inside. Note that the term "rare" has other meanings in different contexts.
4 Well-done: A well-done piece of meat is well cooked, inside and out. There is no pink on the inside of the steak.
Exercise 2
"Bear with me."
The term bear is pronounced in the same way as which of the following terms?
The term bear is pronounced in the same way as which of the following terms?
"Bear with me."
The term bear is pronounced in the same way as which of the following terms?
The term bear is pronounced in the same way as which of the following terms?
The term "bear" is not pronounced in the same way as "beer". "Beer" - the alcoholic drink - rhymes with "here", "hear", and "near". Example: "I hear you have beer - that's great news!".
The term "bear" is pronounced in the same way as "bare". Note that this term also rhymes with "hair", "there", and "care". To "bare" means "to expose". To "bear" means "to tolerate" or "to endure", and "bear with me" can be used instead of "just a moment". Example: "I can't bear it when you bare your soul to me".
Exercise 3
I had barely started reading your email...
Another way of saying this is:
Another way of saying this is:
I had barely started reading your email...
Another way of saying this is:
Another way of saying this is:
This is not correct."Barely" and "looking forward to (doing something)" are unrelated expressions. "To look forward (to reading a letter)" is to anticipate it with pleasure.
This is not correct. To be "(about) to do something" expresses the idea of an imminent action; something which you will do almost immediately. Example: I was just about to call you when the alarm rang.
This is correct. The adverb "barely" has a few meanings, but here it means "just" or "by very little (time)". In this sentence, it expresses that Bruno had just started (or "begun") reading Hannah's email before he started laughing.
This is not correct. The term "barely" is unrelated to a desire or "wanting" to do something!
Exercise 4
Which of the following is NOT included in Susie's description of the television advertisement?
Which of the following is NOT included in Susie's description of the television advertisement?
This applies to the advertisement. Susie mentions a "zebra being chased by leopards" in her description of the ad campaign.
This applies to the advertisement. Susie speaks of a "half-nude virgin girl" in her description of the ad campaign.
This is the only choice which Susie does not mention. Susie talks about "the rhythm of pulsating African drums" in her description of the ad campaign, but she never talks about an "image", merely the sound.
This applies to the advertisement. Susie mentions "a woman whispering" in her description of the ad campaign. To "whisper" is to speak very quietly.
Exercise 5
"I ate so much I nearly split my pants."
Complete the sentence below to express the same meaning as Kevin's line in the dialogue.
I ate so much I my pants.
Complete the sentence below to express the same meaning as Kevin's line in the dialogue.
I ate so much I my pants.
"I ate so much I nearly split my pants."
Complete the sentence below to express the same meaning as Kevin's line in the dialogue.
I ate so much I almost 1 ripped 2 my pants.
Complete the sentence below to express the same meaning as Kevin's line in the dialogue.
I ate so much I almost 1 ripped 2 my pants.
1 almost: "Almost" and "nearly" are synonymous in this context and most others. Both terms express the sense of "coming close" to doing something, or "all but" completing an action, but not. Kevin is saying that he "came close" to splitting his pants, but in the end, he didn't actually split his pants.
1 barely: Although the term "barely" is often synonymous with "nearly", using the term here would indicate that Kevin did split his pants, but just a little bit, which is not the case. We use the term "barely" to indicate the extent or degree of a feeling, action or thought, however is cannot be used here.
1 completely: When Kevin says that he "nearly" split his pants, he means that he "almost" did, but no splitting actually happened. Nearly and completely don't express the same meaning.
2 ripped: "To split one's pants" is to tear the fabric of their pants. We often say "I nearly split my pants" to express that we have eaten a lot. The verb "to split" means to "rip" or "to tear" in this context.
2 broke: The verb "to break" isn't used to describe "ripping" or "tearing" the fabric of an article clothing. "Broken" is generally reserved to describe "objects" (machines, toys, even bones) which are damaged or not working. One cannot break a pair of pants.
2 divided: In other context, "to split" is synonymous with "to divide". The verb "to divide" cannot be used to describe the "tearing" or "splitting" of a pair of pants however. In a different context, we might "split" a piece of cake, or split the bill in half, which means to divide the cake, and the bill.
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