| 词组 | a little |
| 释义 | a little ◊ 'little' used as an adjective Little is usually used as an adjective. You use it to talk about the size of something. ...a little table with a glass top. See entry at ↑ ◊ 'a little' used as an adverb A little is usually used as an adverb. You use it after a verb, or in front of an adjective or another adverb. It means 'to a small extent or degree'. The economy is expected to slow down a little. Trading is thought to have been a little disappointing. The local football team is doing a little better. The celebrations began a little earlier than expected. Note that you do not use a little in front of an adjective when the adjective comes in front of a noun. Several other words and expressions can be used to express degree. For a graded list, see section on degree in entry at ↑ ◊ used in front of nouns Little and a little are also used in front of nouns to talk about quantities. When they are used like this, they do not have the same meaning. You use a little simply to indicate that you are talking about a small quantity or amount of something. When you use little without 'a', you are emphasizing that there is only a small quantity or amount of something. So, for example, if you say 'I have a little money', you are simply saying that you have some money. However, if you say 'I have little money', you mean that you do not have enough money. I had made a little progress. It is clear that little progress was made. He started a new business with a little help from his friends. Having an independent allowance will be little help. ◊ used as pronouns Little and a little can be used in similar ways as pronouns. Beat in the eggs, a little at a time. Little has changed. ◊ 'not much' In conversation, people do not usually use little without 'a'. Instead they use not much. For example, instead of saying 'I have little money', they say 'I haven't got much money' or 'I don't have much money'. I haven't got much appetite. You haven't got much to say to me, have you? We probably don't have much time. You don't have much contact with other people. ◊ WARNING You do not use little or a little when you are talking about a small number of people or things. You do not say, for example, 'She has a little hens'. You say 'She has a few hens'. Similarly, you do not say 'Little people attended his lectures'. You say 'Few people attended his lectures', or 'Not many people attended his lectures'. See entry at ↑ |
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