In this article, we will talk about how a little word is spelled - together or separately.
The word “a little” will be used together if the opposition is absent in the sentence and it will change without harm to the text “a little bit”. The word is written separately depending on the context.
How to write a little or not a lot: is together or separately?
- We have a lot of roses, but you are a little late, because everything has already been dismantled.
The word "a little" never changes and depends on the verb. It explains it and answers the question - how long? On this basis, it can be determined that the word is a thorough dialect. It is formed from the adjective "many", "a little."
As you can see in the dialect there is a prefix “not”, which has passed from the adjective. In a sentence, this word can be replaced with a “slightly”. This allows you to understand that part of the speech is chosen correctly, and should also be used together.
In addition, there is no opposition in the sentence, but there is a statement. By the way, the adverb can be replaced with a synonym without the prefix "not."
- Each time, turning to her, he bend his head a little to see her bottomless eyes.
A separate word can be written if there are syntactic and lexical conditions in the text.
The particle “not” will be used separately if the text has a contrast or the word “at all”, “far”, “by no means”, as well as a negative pronoun or adverb.
— Not much, but little light falls on plants in a greenhouse.
- He did not tell us a lot of good.
- We did not take many books from us to read.
Video: Basic rules of the Russian language
