Little and Small

Little and Small Little and Small Little and Small By Maeve Maddox A reader asks, Can you illustrate how little and small are correctly used? As adjectives, little and small are often interchangeable, but sometimes one will not do in place of the other. Either is used to describe people or things of reduced dimensions: Last night I saw upon the stair/A little man who wasnt there [The Little Woman] is a great and very inspiring book. I havent read anything like that in a long time. Its a testimony of a small woman who changed the whole country of China Small is preferred when describing something concrete that is of less than the usual size, quantity, value, or importance: Detective Swann showed us  to a small room  and then disappeared. President Grover Norquist [said] that any short-term deficit hit is a small price to pay for structural changes that will generate big savings down the road. Little often refers to concepts: Getting proper Louisiana hunting licenses takes a  little forethought. The writer attempts analysis, but  demonstrates little  or no original thought or insight. Most of these elements, however, are of  little importance in the grand scheme of things. Large is more frequently used than big to modify abstract nouns such as amount, proportion, quantity, size, sum, and volume: A newly published study from NASA shows that Earths atmosphere contains  an unexpectedly large amount  of Carbon tetrachloride. In certain contexts, little can mean miniature or â€Å"smaller than regular size†: The kindergarten room was furnished with little tables and chairs. The children were playing with little cars on the sidewalk. Both little and small can indicate the state of being a child: When I was little, I used to pretend I was invisible. When I was small, I used to pretend I could fly. But â€Å"This is my small sister† means that the sister is small in size, whereas â€Å"This is my little sister† means that the sister is younger than the speaker. In statements of contrast, little is usually paired with big; small is usually paired with large. The big boys wouldnt  let the  little ones  use the basketball. Oklahoma  companies,  large and small, profit from training.    Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Computer Terms You Should KnowThe Possessive Apostrophe8 Great Podcasts for Writers and Book Authors