Englishfor English speakers
a
Determinative
—
A is used when the following word could be any of a certain type.
Compare "A book I saw on the shelf" and "The book I gave you yesterday".
a
Noun
—
A is the first letter of the alphabet.
The letter "a" comes before "b".
—
In some schools, an A is a very high grade.
Ron got an A on his earth science test.
little
Adjective
—
If something is little, its size is not big.
I just ate a tiny little piece of the cake.
—
A little while, distance, etc. is not long.
Could you just wait a little while more?
—
A little person or animal is young.
Two little boys were fighting on the playground.
little
Determinative
—
Little money, room, help, etc. is a small amount of it; not much.
They understood little or no French.
He was busy and had little time for children.
Try to spend as little of your money as possible.
We saw little of her after the first day.
Little is known about the problem.
The building was destroyed leaving little more than rock and glass.
She's a quiet person with little to say about these things.
This has little to do with him and a lot to do with you.
We saved what little was left.
off
Preposition
—
Away from somewhere or some time.
I got ready and by 7:00 I was off to school.
There's a nice restaurant just off the main road.
Bye, I'll be off now.
He was standing about 50m off.
Your birthday's only a few days off now.
—
If something is off it is not on.
She took the hat off his head.
Keep your feet off the desk, please.
—
Out of a vehicle such as a train, bus, etc.
As the train stopped, he jumped off and ran to her.
—
If something that uses energy is off, it is not working.
It was dark in the room because the light was off.
He turned the TV off and went to bed.
—
If you are off, you do not have to go to work or to school.
I work evenings, but I have my afternoons off.
—
made smaller by a certain amount
They've taken 30% off the price.
We cut off a few pieces.
—
If a plan, event, etc. is off, it will not happen.
Tonight's game is off because of the rain.
They've called off the meeting.
—
If you're off something, you don't like or want something you wanted before.
That article really put me off meat.
—
If you're off some medicine, you are not using it any more.
He's been off the pain killers for a few weeks.
off
Adjective
—
If food is off, it is not good to eat anymore.
off
Verb
—
If a person offs someone, they kill him or her.
I heard they offed Jimmy by drowning.