Little and small

[irmamar]

Sometimes I'm not sure when I have to use "small" and "little". For instance, if I wanted to say:

Vivo en un pueblo pequeño

I live in a small town
I live in a little town

or

Mi pueblo es pequeño

My town is small
My town is little.

which ones would be the correct sentences?

Thanks in advance :)

[EmpanadaRica]

Sometimes I'm not sure when I have to use "small" and "little". For instance, if I wanted to say:

Vivo en un pueblo pequeño

I live in a small town
I live in a little town

or

Mi pueblo es pequeño

My town is small
My town is little.

which ones would be the correct sentences?

Thanks in advance :)

:) I can understand your confusion because sometimes I think it is difficult to make the distinction..

I think usually one would say 'small town'.

'Little' usually refers to something being physically little often in combination with another adjective (e.g. the stupid little man - although this can also be used figuratively for someone who is closedminded for example).

Then again you would probably more likely say ' This is a small cake' not 'a little cake' (in fact you would say ' Can I have a little cake' meaning, can I have some cake..:rolleyes:)

But when referring to towns with a limited amount of inhabitants, I think it' s more usual to say ' small town' (though I am not sure that 'little town' would be incorrect - maybe a native speaker can give his/her opinion on it as well :))

http://www.eslbase.com/grammar/small-little

[chileno]

Again: these two links hopefully will clarify:

http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=small

http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=little

:)

[brute]

:) I can understand your confusion because sometimes I think it is difficult to make the distinction..

I think usually one would say 'small town'.

'Little' usually refers to something being physically little often in combination with another adjective (e.g. the stupid little man - although this can also be used figuratively for someone who is closedminded for example).

Then again you would probably more likely say ' This is a small cake' not 'a little cake' (in fact you would say ' Can I have a little cake' meaning, can I have some cake..:rolleyes:)

But when referring to towns with a limited amount of inhabitants, I think it' s more usual to say ' small town' (though I am not sure that 'little town' would be incorrect - maybe a native speaker can give his/her opinion on it as well :))

http://www.eslbase.com/grammar/small-little

Laura, Your knowledge of English is better than that of most native English speakers. Since you joined the forums, I have been unable to improve any of your comments.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[bobjenkins]

Laura, Your knowledge of English is better than that of most native English speakers. Since you joined the forums, I have been unable to improve any of your comments.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Estoy de acuerdo! :applause:

[bobjenkins]

Sometimes I'm not sure when I have to use "small" and "little". For instance, if I wanted to say:

Vivo en un pueblo pequeño

I live in a small town
I live in a little town

or

Mi pueblo es pequeño

My town is small
My town is little.

which ones would be the correct sentences?

Thanks in advance :)
No te hablas de cuáles es correcto, porque ambas suenan correctos. No tengo duda que ambas oraciones estarán entendidas por la gente inglés

[EmpanadaRica]

Laura, Your knowledge of English is better than that of most native English speakers. Since you joined the forums, I have been unable to improve any of your comments.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


:o :o :o

Thanx a lot, Brute and Bob, that' s really nice of you to say! :rose: :o

[Tomisimo]

:o :o :o

Thanx a lot, Brute and Bob, that' s really nice of you to say! :rose: :o
And I agree. :)

[EmpanadaRica]

:o

¡Gracias a ti también Tomosimo! :rose:

¡You guys are making me shy haha! :o Thnx! :rose:

[irmamar]

I agree with them, too, holandesita inglesa :D ;)

Studying the examples of wordreference, I can see than they say:

A small car = un cochecito
A little cat = un gatito
A little boy = uni niño

Should I use "small" with inanimate objects and "little" with animate ones? :thinking:

[brute]

I agree with them, too, holandesita inglesa :D ;)

Studying the examples of wordreference, I can see than they say:

A small car = un cochecito
A little cat = un gatito
A little boy = uni niño

Should I use "small" with inanimate objects and "little" with animate ones? :thinking:

On the ferry to Sweden I thought I heard a German order a litre of oil at the bar (Ein Liter Öl)
In fact he was Swedish, asking for a small beer (En liten öl, tack)

Liten is a direct translation of little
Öl (Swedish) is a translation of ale (English beer)
Öl (German) is oil in English

I have also heard English people call beer Neck Oil

[brute]

Little is the word most used by children and children's literature, fairy tales etc.
Little Red Riding Hood, Bo Peep, Jack Horner. It is a more affectionate word than small. Small in contrast can be used negatively.

What a nice little girl - affection
but
What is that small boy doing to my car? - disapproval

She is small-minded and mean, - disapproval
but Winnie the Poo is "A bear of little brain" - affection

A small town sounds less homely than a little village.

However, both words are usually interchangeable.

I

[irmamar]

Thanks, Brute ;)