), and literature to sound more casual or authentic to a character's voice. "can hardly"
He could hardly breathe, the city’s noise pressing softly against his ribs. For years Jonah had measured himself in obligations—emails answered at midnight, duty-bound smiles, shoes worn thin with commuting. Freedom, when spoken of, had always been an abstract: a word people tossed like confetti at parties, bright but impossible to grasp. is it can hardly or cant hardly free
In both cases, "can hardly" clearly conveys the intended meaning without any ambiguity. The Double Negative Dilemma: Why "Can’t Hardly" Doesn’t