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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Little or a little?
Hi there
There is .......doubt that Annemie's team will win the quiz.
***little
***a little
I know that the correct answer is little. But what makes a little wrong in this context. Especially in terms of meaning. Thank you.
There is .......doubt that Annemie's team will win the quiz.
***little
***a little
I know that the correct answer is little. But what makes a little wrong in this context. Especially in terms of meaning. Thank you.
Top answer
As you may know, "little" emphasises smallness or insignificance, whereas "a little" emphasises the existence of something, albeit not in large quantity. There is no grammatical reason why "a little" shouldn't be possible in your sentence -- with different meaning, of course. " is a familiar phrase, almost a set phrase.
- As you may know, "little" emphasises smallness or insignificance, whereas "a little" emphasises the existence of something, albeit not in large quantity.
- There is no grammatical reason why "a little" shouldn't be possible in your sentence -- with different meaning, of course.
- " is a familiar phrase, almost a set phrase.
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2 Answers
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As you may know, "little" emphasises smallness or insignificance, whereas "a little" emphasises the existence of something, albeit not in large quantity. There is no grammatical reason why "a little" shouldn't be possible in your sentence -- with different meaning, of course. It is not so much wrong as unexpected, probably because "little doubt that..." is a familiar phrase, almost a set phrase.
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