A little / A bit

A little, a bit and a little bit are often used as adverbs with little or no difference in meaning.

Examples:

• You're driving too fast. Could you please drive a little (bit) more slowly?
• It was a long journey and I was feeling a bit / a little (bit) tired.

Bit can also combine with ‘of’ before nouns to suggest a limited amount of something. Example:

• Let me give you a bit of advice. Don't drive so fast in built-up areas.

If we use it with a determiner or pronoun, little can also be used in this way:

• Would you like to try a bit of this / a little of this very sweet dessert?

Fewer / Less

Fewer and less are the comparative forms of few and little and are used with countable and uncountable nouns, respectively.

Example:

• I've got a little (bit of) money in the bank. Not very much. Less than I had last year.

Too much / Too many

Much and many can be used as an alternative to a lot of. Much is used with singular nouns and many is used with plural nouns. Too expresses the idea of more than enough or more than necessary.

Examples:

• There were many / a lot of people in the dining room, but there wasn't very much / a lot of food left on the breakfast buffet tables.

Too or Very

Make sure you can distinguish between too and very. Learners of English often confuse these two adverbs. Very means extremely and too means more than is wanted. Too is often followed by adjective + infinitive clause.

Examples:

• The maths problem was very difficult. It was too difficult for me to solve.

As much / Many as

We can use as much / many as when we are talking about quantity and want to compare things or people that are more or less equal. Much and many can be used in this way as determiners or pronouns or as an adverb in the case of many.

Examples:

• She won't be able to buy as many clothes this year as she bought last year.