Distance and size

Little, small and large

• We talk about low prices, low wages, low levels. (NOT small)
• We say small quantities, small numbers, small amounts, a small increase. (NOT little)
  The opposite is large quantities, large numbers, large amounts, a large increase.
• Similarly, we talk about problems or objects being on a large scale or on a small scale:
  If you are walking in the mountains you need a large scale map.
  The UK has similar problems to the USA, but on a smaller scale.
• In informal spoken English we often use little after another adjective to make it sound more friendly, e.g. poor little Joe, dear little dog, nice little room.
• Little can also mean young, e.g. little brother [informal: younger brother, NOT small brother; the opposite is big brother]. Sometimes little or small suggests that something is not very important, e.g. a little problem, I’ve got a lot of little things to do, to make someone look small, to make small talk [talk socially, about unimportant subjects].