fersamal  +  94830 Sat, 30 Apr 05 03:13 PM Why can you not use the determiner 'little' before countable nouns? fersamal Joined on Sat, Apr 30 2005 New Member 01 Nouns, Countable Nouns, Determiners

	CalifJim  +  94849 Sat, 30 Apr 05 05:43 PM Welcome to English Forums! You can use "little" before countable nouns -- when it means "small". Five little boys were playing in the yard. But not when it means "not many", "few": *We saw little elephants and even littler giraffes on our safari. Should be: We saw few elephants and even fewer giraffes on our safari. One of the reasons you can't use them is it's too confusing. The person you are speaking to won't know if you mean "small" or "not many". CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,128 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Nouns, Countable Nouns