Can "little" modify countable nouns?

nekocat · 15 Jul 2007

A: Where did you have it custom-tailored?
B: It's not custom-made. I bought it off the rack.
A: Really? It fits you perfectly.
B: Thank you. It didn't fit me at first, so I had a little alterations made.

I learned that you can't use "a little" or "little" with countable nouns.

Mikawa Ossan · 15 Jul 2007

I say, no. The example is an example of incorrect English.

Geostigma · 15 Jul 2007

No, it would have to be singular. "I had a little alteration made." You would have to use "a few" or "some" or something along those lines to go with the plural noun.

made of stone · 15 Jul 2007

nekocat said:
Can "little" modify countable nouns?
I learned that you can't use "a little" or "little" with countable nouns.

A good question nekocat, it's very easy to confuse two distinct uses of 'little'.

As a modifier it can be used with countable nouns, e.g. 'Look at the little children.'

As a quantifier '(a) little' is only used with singular (usually uncountable) nouns, and '(a) few' is used with plurals. For example:

'We've got a little milk and a few eggs.'

JimmySeal · 15 Jul 2007

Did you add the "s" in alterations? Alteration can be used as an abstract noun (like proliferation, fluctuation), and in that case you can say "I had a little alteration done."

bakaKanadajin · 15 Jul 2007

made of stone said:
A good question nekocat, it's very easy to confuse two distinct uses of 'little'.
As a modifier it can be used with countable nouns, e.g. 'Look at the little children.'
As a quantifier '(a) little' is only used with singular (usually uncountable) nouns, and '(a) few' is used with plurals. For example:
'We've got a little milk and a few eggs.'

yep yep!

made of stone knows many useful grammatical terms, he must have NOT worked at Nova where we're trained to say 'its just more natural that way'.

Half-n-Half · 18 Jul 2007

I think a better translation would be, "I had some alterations made." or you could even say, "I had little alterations made." So really, you could use it with a plural counting noun, at least I think so. However, the first one is the better choice.

nekocat · 19 Jul 2007

There! Conflicting opinion!
Thanks all! I appreciate your help!

pugtm · 21 Jul 2007

i had little alterations made can be said but it changes the meaning. If you say little you are saying you had small alterations made.

gruntyking117 · 21 Jul 2007

"I had a little alterations made" sounds off, but "I had little alterations made" works. Just remove the "a" in the case of a plural and add it if it's singular.

Can "little" modify countable nouns?

nekocat

先輩

Mikawa Ossan

いかんわ！

Geostigma

Sempai

made of stone

後輩

JimmySeal

Tubthumper

bakaKanadajin

先輩

Half-n-Half

先輩

nekocat

先輩

pugtm

Jewish Samurai

gruntyking117

Please, call me Mike.

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