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ESL forum >
Ask for help > LITTLE
LITTLE
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teacherlupe
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LITTLE
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DEAR FRIENDS:
i HAVE A DOUBT, CAN YOU HELP ME?
IS IT POSSIBLE TO WRITE LITTLER AND LITTLEST WHEN IT IS ABOUT SIZE?
THANKS IN ADVANCE
GUADALUPE |
11 Nov 2010
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06.04
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littler is very, so, too, extremely rare; and even there is no such a thing. it is less. when it is about size: smaller is used. |
11 Nov 2010
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dennismychina
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Hi, littler, littlest sounds so wrong but my spell check doesn�t hi-light them so I suppose it must be correct. I�ve always used less lesser least or small smaller or for age young etc.etc. But then I was brought up with British English. ???
Enjoy.
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11 Nov 2010
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magneto
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OALD : The forms littler and littlest are rare. It is more common to use smaller and smallest.
So, I guess littler and littlest are not wrong; just very rare.
I �d use small - smaller for size and young - younger for age.
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11 Nov 2010
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ldthemagicman
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Teacherlupe,
Where I live in the UK, the words �little �, �littler � and �littlest � are very frequently used.
I am astonished that someone seems to think that the word �little� is �rare�.
The Oxford Dictionary of English devotes more than half-a-column to it.
�Little� conveys a sense of appealing diminutiveness; charm; affection; (and sometimes condescension).
It is used particularly in Nursery Rhymes and Children�s Songs.
"Little Boy Blue": "Little Jack Horner"; "Little Miss Muffet"; "What Are Little Boys Made Of?" "Little Boy Kneels At The Foot Of The Bed", "The Little Drummer Boy", "In My Sweet Little Alice-Blue Gown", "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", etc.
Les |
11 Nov 2010
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magneto
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Hmmm...Interesting tip, Les...And leading those who read your post to discover that the Oxford Dictionary of English is also available online...or will be in December, at least.
Always nice to get information from native speakers
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11 Nov 2010
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SueThom
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Little is very common, as Les pointed out, but as I understand the question, it �s more about the comparative and superlative forms of the word.
I agree that those are not used nearly as often. Running them and smaller/smallest through COCA, the following numbers come up:
301,186 little 165,345 small
99 littler 27,868 smaller
318 littlest 3,970 smallest
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12 Nov 2010
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ldthemagicman
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Sue,
"Is it possible to write �littler � and �littlest � when it is about size?"
My answer: "Yes".
I think that your statistics throw more light on the question as asked.
All the Best.
Les |
12 Nov 2010
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teacherlupe
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THANKS EVERYBODY FOR YOUR REPLY.
GUADALUPE |
13 Nov 2010
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