"little money" vs "so little money"

Question

Hi ! I would like to know the difference between "little money" and "so little money" in the following sentences.
a) I had little money left and could not buy any souvnir for you.

b) I had so little money left that I could not buy any souvnir for you.
I suppose "little money" means "alomst no money", while "so little money" means "only a small amount of money". I would really appreciate your help!
LP

Avangi · Accepted Answer

UsenetHi ! I would like to know the difference between "little money" and "so little money" in the following sentences.
a) I had little money left and could not buy any souvnir for you.

b) I had so little money left that I could not buy any souvnir for you.
I suppose "little money" means "alomst no money", while "so little money" means "only a small amount of money". I would really appreciate your help!
LP

(taken under advisement)
The difference is that "so . . . that" directly offers the lack of money as the reason for no gift.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]a) I had little money left and could not buy any souvnir for you. b) I had so little money ... "alomst no money", while "so little money" means "only a small amount of money". I would really appreciate your help![/nq]
a) I didn't have much money. As a result, I couldn't buy a souvenir for you.

b) The money that I had was below the threshold necessary to pay for a souvenir for you.

Usenet · Answer

(Email Removed), Lazypierrot (Email Removed) writes
[nq:1]Hi ! I would like to know the difference between "little money" and "so little money" in the following sentences. ... "alomst no money", while "so little money" means "only a small amount of money". I would really appreciate your help![/nq]
There is little difference. However ...
"Little" can be "not much" or "only a small amount".

"So little" is more like "not sufficient/enough" or "insufficient". There is the suggestion of a comparison with an amount (or a quantity) which IS sufficient. For (b), you could say:
"I did not have enough money left to (enable/allow me to) buy any souvenir for you."

Ian

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I would like to know the difference between "little money" and "so little money" in the following sentences. a) I ... any souvenir for you. b) I had so little money left that I could not buy any souvenir for you.[/nq]
"So" is often as it is here a simple intensifier.

Sentence (a) makes a straightforward statement: the amount of money the speaker had left was small, and was insufficient to allow purchase of a souvenir.
Sentence (b) says, at bottom, the same thing, but the added intensifer "so" places an emphasis on the smallness of the balance the speaker had: loosely rephrased, it conveys the thought that even though a souvenir of some sort could (by implication) have been purchased inexpensively, the amount he or she had left was really, really small ("*so* little") that even that minor expense could not be managed.
(The implication of inexpensiveness arises direct from the emphasis on the smallness of the amount, else there would be no point in emphasizing it: one would scarcely say, save perhaps in a feeble jest, "I had so little money left I couldn't afford to buy you a yacht.")

Cordially,
Eric Walker, Owlcroft House
http://owlcroft.com/english/

Usenet · Answer

(Email Removed), Lazypierrot (Email Removed) writes
[nq:1]Thank Ian. You say[/nq]
[nq:2]"Little" can be "not much" or "only a small amount".[/nq]
[nq:1]In Japan, all dictionaries and texbooks of English grammar, as well as teachers say that, "little" and "few", used for ... same as "almost no", while "a little" and "a few" have a positive implication and mean "only a small amount".[/nq]
This is correct.
[nq:1]little / few = almost no (negative implication)[/nq]
Yes. "I have little money" means "I don't have much (a lot of) money" (negative implication).
[nq:1]a little / a few = only a small amout (positive implication)[/nq]
Yes. "I have a little money" means "I do have some money" (positive implication).
[nq:1]What I would like to know is which implication "little" in a), "so little" in b) and "only a little" has.[/nq]
A grammatical explanation is very difficult (for me).

"So" provides emphasis. It often means "very". Sometimes, "very" and "so" are used together. "So" often implies a direct consequence.

Maybe I can give some examples.
"I have a little money" (some money, not a lot, but maybe enough). "I have little money" (not much money).
"I have so little (very little) money" (hardly any money, almost certainly not enough).
With "so little", there is usually a suggestion of it being "not enough" for something. This is certainly true in your sentence: "I had so little money left that I could not buy any souvenir for you. You could also say:
"I had very little money left, so I could not buy any souvenir for you. or
"I could not buy any souvenir for you because I had so little money left."
All of these mean:
"As a direct consequence of having so little (insufficient) money left, I was unable to buy any souvenir for you."
You can also use "so" with other adjectives of number, size, quantity etc.
"The building was so tall that the elevator took ten minutes to reach the top."
"The building was very tall and the elevator took ten minutes to reach the top."
"The building was very tall, so the elevator took ten minutes to reach the top."
"The man was so old that he could remember World War 1." "The man was very old, and he could remember World War 1."

Finally, you may sometimes find that "that" is used instead of "so" (mainly when the emphasis is positive).
"The building was THAT tall, the elevator took ten minutes to reach the top."
"The man was THAT old, he could remember World War 1."

Have I confused you?

Ian

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I would like to know the difference between "little money" ... left that I could not buy any souvenir for you.[/nq]
[nq:1]"So" is often as it is here a simple intensifier. Sentence (a) makes a straightforward statement: the amount of money the speaker had left was small, and was insufficient to allow purchase of a souvenir.[/nq]
Not necessarily cause and effect though.
"a) I had little money left (and anyway, the shops were shut, so I) could not buy any souvenirs for you."

Pablo

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Sentence (a) makes a straightforward statement: the amount of money the speaker had left was small, and was insufficient to allow purchase of a souvenir.[/nq]
[nq:1]Not necessarily cause and effect though. "a) I had little money left (and anyway, the shops were shut, so I) could not buy any souvenirs for you."[/nq]
The parenthetical material was crammed in with a shoehorn: there is nothing whatever in the original that implies, however vaguely, that the effect was owing to some cause other than the one expressly stated.

There is always jerk-around room in a simple sentence, but people do not, in the real world, write or say things like "I worked overtime and went to sleep early that night" when what they mean is "I worked overtime and came home to find a burglary in process and the burglar slugged me with a sap so I went to sleep early that night."

Cordially,
Eric Walker, Owlcroft House
http://owlcroft.com/english/

Usenet · Answer

The OP didn't call them 'rules'. He used the terms "negative implications" and "positive implications". OK, there will be exceptions, but, in general, I would say that these descriptions were fairly correct.

Ian

"little money" vs "so little money"

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