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Today we answer a question from Brigitte in France. She writes:
今天我们来回答来自法国的布丽齐特的一个问题。
Could you tell me when to use little and when to use small? Thank you.
她写道：你能告诉我什么时候用little，什么时候用small么？谢谢。
Dear Brigitte, Thank you for writing to us.
亲爱的布丽齐特：感谢你给我们写信。
The words "little" and "small" may seem to have the same meaning, but they do have different uses.
“little”和“small”看起来意思相同，但是用法不一样。
First, we can look at them separately.
首先，我们分别来看一下这两个单词。
We use "little" to talk about a small or unimportant amount of something.
当我们谈论少量或者不太重要的东西时，我们用“little”。
For example: There is a little dirt on the floor.
比如：地板上有一些灰尘。
You can also use "little" to describe someone who is young, as in this example:
你也可以用“little”来形容一个人年轻，比如这个例子中的用法：
The little girls laughed at the dog.
这些小女孩取笑那只狗。
Note that when the article "a" is placed before "little," it means you do have some amount of a thing.
注意当冠词“a”放在“little”前时，意思是你有一定量的东西。
She has a little experience with political campaigns.
她在政治竞选方面有一点经验。
But without the article, "little" means you are lacking or missing something.
但是没有冠词时，“little”意思是缺少或者丢失了一些东西。
I have little need for swimwear in the winter.
在冬天我没有穿游泳衣的需求。
There is an important difference between the words "little" and "small."
“little”和“small”之间有一个很重要的区别。
The difference is, when describing an amount, we use "little."
那就是当描述数量时，我们用“little”。
But when describing the size of someone or something, we use "small."
但是描述某人或者某物的大小时，我们用“small”。
Here is an example: The airplane seats are only a good fit for small adults.
比如这个例子：这些飞机座位正好适合矮小的成年人。
Another different use of "small" is when comparing one thing with another.
“small”的另一个不同用法适用于我们把一个东西和另外一样东西相比较时。
My new phone is smaller than the old one.
我的新手机比旧手机小。
It is not correct to compare amounts with the word "little."
比较数量时用“little”是不对的。
In spoken English, people add the ending -est to "little" when comparing sizes.
在英语口语中，人们比较大小时会在“little”后面加上est。
The word "littlest" is often used when describing sometime cute and very small.
当描述非常可爱和特别小的东西时，我们经常用“littlest”。
That is the littlest puppy I have ever seen!
那是我见过的最小的小狗！
I hope that helps to answer your question, Brigitte.
我希望这些能帮助回答你的问题，布丽齐特。
And that's Ask a Teacher.
这就是名师问答的内容。
And I'm Greg Stachel.
格雷格·施塔赫尔为您报道。
