a little better

[azz]

a. They gave me a job little better than the one I had.
b. They gave me a little better job than the one I had.

c. They gave me a room little more comfortable than the one I had.
d. They gave me a little more comfortable room than the one I had.

Which of the above sentences are grammatically correct?

Many thanks.

 

[azz]

little better (plural)

a. They gave us jobs little better than the ones we had.
b. They gave us little better jobs than the ones we had.

c. They gave us rooms little more comfortable than the ones we had.
d. They gave us little more comfortable rooms than the ones we had.

Which of the above sentences are grammatically correct?

Many thanks.

 

[tedmc]

I would say "a slightly better job" and "a slightly more comfortable room". "Little", which is also associated with "size", makes the sentences sound confusing.

 

[emsr2d2]

Re: little better (plural)

a. They gave us jobs little better than the ones we had. :tick:
b. They gave us little better jobs than the ones we had. :cross:

c. They gave us rooms little more comfortable than the ones we had. :tick:
d. They gave us little more comfortable rooms than the ones we had. :cross:

Which of the above sentences are grammatically correct?

[STRIKE]Many thanks.[/STRIKE] Unnecessary.

Note my markups above. Are you aware that "little better than" means "hardly better at all"? It's not the same as "a little better than".

 

[5jj]

a. They gave me a job little better than the one I had.
b. They gave me a little better job than the one I had.

(a) is grammatically correct. Take it to mean They gave me a job which was little better than the one I had. Note that you are using 'little', not 'a little'. I'd end the sentence with 'I already had'.

(b) is grammatically correct but not very natural. I agree with ted that 'slightly' is more natural here, though I don't think this has anything to do with 'small' connotations.

 

[teechar]

I agree that "a" and "c" are possible (noting as 5jj has pointed out the difference between "little", meaning almost none, and "a little"), but I would not use the patterns in sentences "b" and "d".

 

[teechar]

azz, I have merged your threads. There was no need to start two different threads about basically the same question.