Re: USAGE : English past tense and participle in -et
| From: | Tristan McLeay <zsau@...> |
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| Date: | Sunday, December 28, 2003, 1:42 |
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On Sun, 28 Dec 2003, Tim May wrote:
> I wonder, though, why "afew" and "alittle" aren't being suggested,
> when "few" and "little" are even less nounlike than "lot".
I'm tempted to say that 'afew' and 'alittle' look less like ligitimate
words than 'alot', but that's no doubt a circular argument. So I'll hazard
that it's because 'little' certainly has other common uses besides ('a
little dog'). 'Few' might fit there too, but I can't think of any good
examples. 'Alot' 's probably more common than 'alittle' or 'afew' would
be, too.
--
Tristan