Small and little are both adjectives used to talk about size, but there are two important differences between them.
The first difference is the position of the words in a sentence.
Small is only used in front of nouns or after verbs.
Little is only used in front of nouns.
- She cut the cake into small pieces.
(noun/pieces) - There are three small rooms upstairs.
- The garden is very small.
(verb/is/to be) - She looked small standing next to her horse.
The town is little.
(noun/town)- It is a little town.
The town is small.
The second difference is the connotation of the words.
The connotation of small is neutral. It simply talks about things that are not big.
The connotation of little is positive. It adds a positive emotion to the noun.
- The puppy is small.
(not big)
Such a lovely little puppy.
(adds positive emotion to the puppy) - She bought a small table.
She bought a little table with a decorative top.
