[Vocabulary] "a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

[pinbong]

"a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

Hi, teachers:

I'm wondering which one of the expressions I mentioned sounds most natural to you? Are they all acceptable?? Are there regional differences(AmE, BrE and AusE) in the choice? From what I always heard, I think British tend to use "a bit" more often, while Americans always say "a little bit", I rarely hear Americans say "a bit" alone. Is my observation right?

Btw, a random additional question: which of the following is right?

It sounds natural.

It sounds naturally.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[pinbong]

Re: "a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

Maybe I need to bump this up for you teachers to see. Sorry.

 

[5jj]

Re: "a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

It sounds natural.:tick: . [STRIKE]It sounds naturally[/STRIKE].

5

 

[Nightmare85]

Re: "a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

***Neither a teacher nor a native speaker.***

There are several words that don't need an adverb.

Your idea sounds good.
You cannot say, "Your idea sounds well.", because an idea doesn't "create" sounds.
He looks good.
When you refer to someone's outfit (or his look), you don't need to use an adverb.
"He looks well." can be used sometimes too.
(Normally you would use it to describe how he looks/sees with his eyes.)

Wow, this smells good.
Food cannot smell well, because it does not do anything.

I feel sad.
You don't feel sadly, because it is your feeling.

I believe there are also other exceptions...

Cheers!

 

[pinbong]

Re: "a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

Nice explanations. Both of yours.

Just wondering if convenient anyone can have a look at the "a bit" "a little bit" question? I have to go to bed now. Hope I'm not being too pushy. I'm not myself now.:sleeping::sleeping::sleeping::sleeping::sleeping::sleeping:

 

[5jj]

Re: "a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

He looks good. When you refer to someone's outfit (or his look), you don't need to use an adverb.:tick:
"He looks well." can be used sometimes too.
(Normally you would use it to describe how he looks/sees with his eyes.) No, it doesn't mean this. It means that his appearance suggests that he is in good health.

5

 

[Nightmare85]

Re: "a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

Yeah, that was also my thought.
Especially because I asked that question once :-D

She doesn't look well. = She looks sick.

Cheers!

 

[5jj]

Re: "a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

And now a reminder, to anyone joining this thread, that pinbong's original question is still to be answered:

"I'm wondering which one of the expressions* I mentioned sounds most natural to you? Are they all acceptable?? Are there regional differences(AmE, BrE and AusE) in the choice? From what I always heard, I think British tend to use "a bit" more often, while Americans always say "a little bit", I rarely hear Americans say "a bit" alone. Is my observation right?"

*in the title of the thread.

 

[BobK]

Re: "a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

Perhaps I should start a new thread to answer the original question! ;-)

'A bit' is often reinforced in Br Eng - 'a little bit'/'a tiny bit'/'a teeny-weeny bit' (informal and jocular)... and many others.

This is sometimes replaced by a word that of itself means 'a small amount' - 'a tad'. We also use a word borrowed from French: 'a soupçon'.

When 'tad' was first used in Br Eng I think it was borrowed from Am Eng; this led to misunderstandings, so some people try to 'repair' it by saying (pleonastically) 'a tad bit'.

I don't think anything here is particularly American. Perhaps someone from over there could contribute? ;-)

b`

 

[NikkiBarber]

Re: "a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

In the part of America where I live (southern Louisiana) people are constantly saying "a tad bit" when they mean "very little." I don't think this is actually correct but it is used almost as often as both "a bit" and "a little."
It is my impression that people in the South often tend to repeat themselves without thinking about it. A good example would be "y'all," meaning "you all," which is used instead of "you" in the plural almost all the time.

 

[pinbong]

Re: "a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

Thanks for answering, bobK and NikkiBarber.

In China, back in middle school, we were taught "a little" . But after I went to college and got exposed to more listening materials recorded by native speakers, I noticed that few of them say "a little". They either say "a little bit" or "a bit".

From what I heard, Americans prefer to say "a little bit", while British tend to say "bit of" ( article "a" omitted). Other variations I've heard include: "a teensy bit", "a teeny bit". Did not know "a tad bit" till Nikki mentioned it.

Would love to know more variations.

 

[Tdol]

Re: "a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

a touch can be used like a tad

 

[BobK]

Re: "a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

You can also improvise these expressions of thinness on the basis of the physical context For example, a cricket ball can be said to have 'missed the stumps by a coat of varnish', but in a context that didn't involve varnished wood this wouldn't make much sense. ;-)

b

 

[pinbong]

Re: "a bit" ;"a little" ;"a little bit" ,and other variations...

You can also improvise these expressions of thinness on the basis of the physical context For example, a cricket ball can be said to have 'missed the stumps by a coat of varnish', but in a context that didn't involve varnished wood this wouldn't make much sense. ;-)

b

That's a very useful piece of learning. Never heard of it before. Many thanks, Mr. BobK.