Forum: ell.stackexchange.com
Tags: <word-choice><difference>
Title: “I have little money” vs. “I have a little money”
Question: What is the difference between “I have  little  money” and “I have  a little  money”?  Are they the same?

Answers:
sents: text: There is a difference in meaning between “a little” and “little”.
text: The meaning of “ a little” is positive .
text: It means some or a small amount, such as, “I have a little money.”
text: , “He made a little progress.”
text: , etc.
text: On the other hand, “little” has a negative meaning.
text: It means an extremely small amount or an amount that is less than expected or wished for, as in, “I have little money.”, “He made little progress.”, etc.
text: If we look at these sentences, the difference between “a little” and “little” will come across easily.
text: The former may be satisfactory for a particular purpose while the latter is not.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/9259/Khan
score: 27
sents: text: Quite different.
text: "I have little money" implies you have a very small amount of money, and usually less than you'd want to.
text: For example, when your kid asks you to buy him a toy, and you reply "Sorry, I have little money", it implies you can't afford the toy.
text: "I have a little money" implies that while the sum in question might not be big (relatively speaking), it's good enough.
text: When you tell your kid "Well, I have a little money", you're affirming that you can, in fact, afford the toy.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/9315/Maciej Stachowski
score: 14
sents: text: I have little money =
text: I am not a rich man.
text: I have a little money can mean: a.
text: I have some money on my person now (e.g. in my pocket) but not very much.
text: b.
text: I have a rather large sum of money available if I should need it (i.e. litotes/understatement)
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/10264/Tᴚoɯɐuo
score: 10
sents: text: "little money" means not much as in "I can't afford to buy a new dress.
text: I have little money."
text: "a little money" can be positive as in "What about going to the cinema?
text: I would invite you.
text: I have a little money I can spend."
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/4159/rogermue
score: 3
sents: text: Using the article a/an has a subtle effect on the meaning of the sentence.
text: Below are my thoughts on your question.
text: "I have little money"
text: - It means you hardly have money.
text: "I have a little money" -
text: It means you have some money.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/10703/jim_nr
score: 2
sents: text: The other answers are all correct, but they omit one detail that might clarify the usage: "a little" is a shortened version of the full phrase "a little bit of."
text: Therefore, the phrase "I have a little money" is in fact an abbreviation of "I have a little bit of money."
text: Hopefully this will make it more clear as to why it is a positive amount: it means you may not have much, but you do in fact have some.
text: You have a bit (syn.
text: portion or amount) of money, you just have "a little bit."
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/10822/Nerrolken
score: 0
sents: text: So complicated! a little = some little = not much
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/22852/Melaniejane
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
A little = some. Little = not much. "A little" is a shortened version of "A little bit of". "I have a little money" implies that while the sum in question might not be big (relatively speaking), it's good enough.  "I have little money" implies you have a very small amount of money, and usually less than you'd want to.
A little' is positive and means some. 'Little' is negative and means not much.