What is missing in "Every Little Helps"

[4fingers]

Hi

I have been thinking about the slogan used by a popular grocery and general merchandising retail chain.

"Every Little Helps"

It seems to me that the subject is missing. Every little of what helps? The way they seem to get round this is by using it at the end of a sentence or at the end of their advertising where it seems clear what that something is.

By itself which it is often found, there is no suggestive subject it just seems odd and open to interpretation.

How would you technically describe that sentence? What is it missing? Surely every little cannot be helpful? Am I just thinking about this too much?

Any help would be great in understanding this would be great.
Thanks

[Jamie (K)]

The usual idiom is, "Every little bit helps."

[Alan]

Hi,

This is the mantra used by the supermarket Tesco and the whole idea is to keep what that 'little' means vague because it means different things to different people. The main idea is that the money you save by shopping at this supermarket soon adds up and is of benefit. If you wanted to spell the idea out, it would be 'every little bit of money you save, is helpful'. But if they had chosen that as a slogan, it wouldn't have been as effective.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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[4fingers]

Thanks for both your input

Would you class that 3 word clause as a simple sentence or is there a special name you give to a sentence that vague? Is there also a name for a sentence that you only understand what it was reffering to once you read the previous sentence?

I was also just trying to classify each word into an Adjective, Noun or Verb but when it came to the word "Helps" the dictionary site I used seems to say it can both be a Noun or a Verb and was wondering what it was in this context.

Every = Adjective
Little = Adjective
Helps = Noun/Verb ~(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/helps)

[Torsten]

Hi 4fingers,

The word "little" can be an adverb, an adjective or a noun. As a noun it means "a small amount". As for the sentence itself, I think it's just a simple and vague sentence. In addition, it's also an advertising slogan or a mantra as Alan put it.
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[Yankee]

The word 'little' can indeed also be classified as a noun or pronoun, but "Every little helps" is not a standard way to use 'little' as a noun.

As others have already mentioned, 4fingers, this is technically a sentence, but first and foremost, it is a slogan. Slogans are designed to be "catchy" and memorable. And you yourself are the living proof that Tesco has accomplished this. The slogan is an oddly worded sentence, and that fact has caused you to remember it.
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English