Posted on 2-28-23

A little, A bit

Oof! I am guilty of this. If I were to ever show my first draft and even up until I do a major edit… to say I’ve used a little, a bit, too much, is an understatement.

What do we mean by a ‘A little,’ ‘A bit?’

“I poured a little bit of wine into the goblet.”

“I poured a bit of wine into the goblet.”

Why not just write, “I poured wine into the goblet.” Unless you need to specify a small amount. But then, you could just write, ‘a small amount.’

Why do we need to specify a little, a bit? Is it necessary to move the plot forward? Is there a specific reason, such as if more was poured, the MC could become drunk? And if so, why not put a specific amount?

‘A little,’ ‘A bit’: These are easily slipped into sentences and done so without thought. Think about why you want to specify a small amount and ask if it’s integral to “pouring the wine.”

A bit – usually shows a quantity. You’ll see this frequently with “I was a bit tired after working in the yard.”

A little – showing a size/degree, small amount, and usually an adjective. You’ll see this frequently with “I poured a little wine into the goblet.”

When you come across ‘A little,’ ‘A bit,’ in your writing, ask if it’s truly necessary to define the amount or quantity of. Will the sentence stand alone without it? If so, consider taking it out for a clearer and more concise sentence.

In Word, click on ‘find’ and a side bar will load. Type in the word ‘that’ and it will tell you how many times you’ve used it in your document. From there, use the down and up arrow keys, or click on the text to bring you to the sentence, and re-read it. Can ‘that’ be substituted for another word? Could you re-write your whole sentence?

Thank you for reading and don’t forget to…

Write On!