I. DETERMINER, QUANTIFIER, AND ADVERB USES
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
You use ~ to indicate that there is only a very small amount of something. You can use ‘so’, ‘too’, and ‘very’ in front of ~.
I had ~ money and ~ free time...
I find that I need very ~ sleep these days...
There is ~ doubt that a diet high in fibre is more satisfying...
So far ~ progress has been made towards ending the fighting...
DET: DET n-uncount
•
Little is also a quantifier.
Little of the existing housing is of good enough quality...
? much
QUANT: QUANT of def-n
•
Little is also a pronoun.
In general, employers do ~ to help the single working mother...
Little is known about his childhood.
PRON
2.
Little means not very often or to only a small extent.
On their way back to Marseille they spoke very ~...
ADV: ADV with v
3.
A ~ of something is a small amount of it, but not very much. You can also say a very ~.
Mrs Caan needs a ~ help getting her groceries home...
A ~ food would do us all some good...
I shall be only a very ~ time.
DET: DET n-uncount
•
Little is also a pronoun.
They get paid for it. Not much. Just a ~.
PRON
•
Little is also a quantifier.
Pour a ~ of the sauce over the chicken...
I’m sure she won’t mind sparing us a ~ of her time.
QUANT: QUANT of def-n-uncount/sing
4.
If you do something a ~, you do it for a short time.
He walked a ~ by himself in the garden.
ADV: ADV after v
5.
A ~ or a ~ bit means to a small extent or degree.
He complained a ~ of a nagging pain between his shoulder blades...
He was a ~ bit afraid of his father’s reaction...
If you have to drive when you are tired, go a ~ more slowly than you would normally...
ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj/adv
6.
If something happens ~ by ~, it happens very gradually.
In the beginning he had felt well, but ~ by ~ he was becoming weaker...
= gradually
PHRASE: PHR with cl
II. ADJECTIVE USES
(~r, ~st)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
Note: The comparative '~r' and the superlative '~st' are sometimes used in spoken English for meanings 1, 3, and 4, but otherwise the comparative and superlative forms of the adjective '~' are not used.
1.
Little things are small in size. Little is slightly more informal than small .
We sat around a ~ table, eating and drinking wine.
...the ~ group of art students.
= small
? big
ADJ: usu ADJ n
2.
You use ~ to indicate that someone or something is small, in a pleasant and attractive way.
She’s got the nicest ~ house not far from the library.
...a ~ old lady...
James usually drives a ~ hatchback.
ADJ: ADJ n
3.
A ~ child is young.
I have a ~ boy of 8...
When I was ~ I was very hyper-active.
ADJ
4.
Your ~ sister or brother is younger than you are.
Whenever Daniel’s ~ sister was asked to do something she always had a naughty reply.
? big
ADJ: ADJ n
5.
A ~ distance, period of time, or event is short in length.
Just go down the road a ~ way, turn left, and cross the bridge...
Why don’t we just wait a ~ while and see what happens...
I’ve been wanting to have a ~ talk with you.
? long
ADJ: ADJ n
6.
A ~ sound or gesture is quick.
I had a ~ laugh to myself...
She stood up quickly, giving a ~ cry of astonishment...
He turned with a ~ nod and I watched him walk away.
ADJ: ADJ n
7.
You use ~ to indicate that something is not serious or important.
...irritating ~ habits...
Harry found himself getting angry over ~ things that had never bothered him before.
ADJ: ADJ n