Re: Do you want a French "little" or a Dutch "little"? :))

> Van: Christophe Grandsire
> Onderwerp: Do you want a French "little" or a Dutch "little"? :))
Well, to stay with your example: in Dutch we would say

1) "een beetje boter" -> lit.: "a bit of butter" -> "some butter"

"een beetje": some (a pseudo-quantitative determiner that indicates that the
amount is non-large)

2) "een klein beetje beter" -> lit: "a little bit of butter"

"een klein beetje": small amount

3) "een heel klein beetje boter" -> lit: "a very little bit of butter"

"een heel klein beetje": the minimal amount

Maarten