What little I had…

Let’s look at the meaning of the expression “what little I had…” using some examples with an explanation.

“I spent what little money I had on a new car.”
This expression is most often used when talking about money so we will start with this simple example. When we say “what little money I had” we are saying that I used all the money that I had, everything is gone. There is none left. I have a new car, but now I also have no money. Because we add “little “after “what” it gives us the feeling that all the money I had was not very much. It was a small amount of money. When you talk about all you have, we usually imagine a large amount because it is everything. What little money I had gives us the feeling that even though you used everything, it still wasn’t very much.
 
 
 
 

Here are some more examples using different objects.

 
“What few pairs of shoes I have can fit on only 1 shelf in my closet.”
All the shoes I have can fit in a small space. Even though it is everything, it isn’t many.
 
 
“I use what little free time I have after work to study English.”
I don’t have much free time after work but I use it all to study English. Really? I am very proud of you!!!

Try to write a few of your own examples 🙂

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