CDS 2026 (I) English, question 9

Topic: Vocabulary and word usage

Answers by SolvedPaper. UPSC has not released the official answer key for this paper yet. We will update it when they do.

Directions · Q1 to Q10

In the following items, a pair of words is provided. You are required to select the option that most appropriately describes the meaning of both the words and mark your response on the Answer Sheet accordingly.

Q9

Hard and Hardly

  1. (a) Hard means difficult to a great degree and Hardly means scarcelyCorrect answer
  2. (b) Hard means difficult and Hardly means very difficult
  3. (c) Hard means with great force and Hardly means ever so often
  4. (d) Hard means to a great degree and Hardly means never

Solution.

Answer: (a) Hard means difficult to a great degree and Hardly means scarcely

  1. Hard can mean difficult or requiring much effort; hardly means scarcely or almost not.
  2. Hardly is not the regular intensity adverb of hard: “works hard” and “hardly works” have very different meanings.