Little/Small

[arare]

Hello;


I would like to know what is the difference between;

a little house anb a small house

Because the other day I had to explain it to my students and It created me a little conflict.

thanks

 

[bhaisahab]

Hello;


I would like to know what is the difference between;

a little house anb a small house

Because the other day I had to explain it to my students and It created me a little conflict.

thanks

They both mean the same.

 

[arare]

ok. Thank you.

So then I assumed that both can be used in the same situations.

 

[TheParser]

Hello;


I would like to know what is the difference between;

a little house anb a small house

Because the other day I had to explain it to my students and It created me a little conflict.

thanks

***NOT A TEACHER***Have you had a chance to check out Michael Swan's PRACTICAL ENGLISH USAGE? He points out that sometimes you must use "little" in expressions of emotion. For example: Wow! What a pretty little house you have! (No one would ever exclaim: What a pretty small house you have!) Another example: He is a very nasty little man! (A generally unpleasant person.)

 

[Raymott]

***NOT A TEACHER***Have you had a chance to check out Michael Swan's PRACTICAL ENGLISH USAGE? He points out that sometimes you must use "little" in expressions of emotion. For example: Wow! What a pretty little house you have! (No one would ever exclaim: What a pretty small house you have!) Another example: He is a very nasty little man! (A generally unpleasant person.)

In the first example, you'd avoid it because "pretty small" generally means "rather small" rather than "pretty and small".
I'm not convinced about the emotional reason.
How about:
Wow! What an alarmingly small mind (IQ, penis, house ...) you have!