21 English Sentences: Little, A little and The little

Note:

(i)                  ‘Little’, ‘A little’ and ‘The little’ are used with uncountable nouns.

Examples:

o   There is little hope of her recovery.    
(hope – noun  – uncountable)

o   She has a little chance to win.              
(chance – noun – uncountable)

o   The little knowledge she has in typing is enough. 
(knowledge – noun – uncountable)         

(ii)                When used as an adverb, ‘A little’ always comes before the adjective it modifies.

(i) Little

‘Little’ is Adjective, Adverb and Noun.

Synonyms:

Small, modest, not much, hardly any, almost nil etc.

It has a negative meaning/idea/sense.

Sentences:

1.  Anne shows little concern for her father.

2.  Billy has little knowledge of French. 

3.  Harry has little intelligence.

4.  Henry talks very little in the class. 

5.  I don’t bother about little discomforts.

6.  Our town is surrounded by little villages. 

7.  Zany will bring her little sister with her.

(ii) A little

‘A little’ is Adverb.

Synonyms:

Some, some though not much, small amount. 

It has a positive meaning/idea/sense.

Sentences:

1.  A little care could have prevented the accident.

2.  A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

3.  I had seen Ann when she was just a little girl.

4.  It was only a very little fault!

5.  Kelly has a little chance of being selected.

6.  She has a little bread in her lunchbox.

7.  We have a little dining room.

 (iii) The little

Synonyms:

Not much, but all of that much; small quantity that has been used up.

It has both positive and negative meaning.

Sentences:

1.  Kelly spent the little money she had.

2.  The little influence that Lucy has will help her.

3.  The little data boy gave was not helpful.

4.  The little knowledge of music helped Anne.

5.  The little milk in the jug was drunk by Jerry.

6.  The little things John does bother me very much.

7.  The little grain we had was damaged by rain.

Quotations:

1.  A little learning is a dangerous thing – Alexander Pope

2.  Behold, I do not give lectures or a little charity,
When I give I give myself – Walt Whitman

3.  Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot - Anon

4.  Form some sentences using ‘little’, ‘a little’, and ‘the little’.

5.  Good breeding consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of the other person – Mark Twain  

6.  He is not poor that has little, but he that desires much – Daniel

7.  He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that – John Stuart Mill  

8.  If you have any doubt, refer a good grammar book.

9.  Let the refining and improving of your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.  

(To be updated)

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