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]

Originally Posted by 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

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..)

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/tran...tranword=small

http://www.wordreference.com/es/tran...ranword=little

[brute]

Originally Posted by EmpanadaRica

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..)

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.

[bobjenkins]

Originally Posted by brute

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.

Estoy de acuerdo!

[bobjenkins]

Originally Posted by 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

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

[EmpanadaRica]

Originally Posted by brute

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.

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

[Tomisimo]

Originally Posted by EmpanadaRica

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

And I agree.

[EmpanadaRica]

¡Gracias a ti también Tomosimo!

¡You guys are making me shy haha! Thnx!

[irmamar]

I agree with them, too, holandesita inglesa

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?

[brute]

Originally Posted by irmamar

I agree with them, too, holandesita inglesa

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?

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