What's the difference between : У меня́ бы́ло немно́го рабо́ты and У меня́ не́ было мно́го рабо́ты.?

Question

What's the difference between : У меня́ бы́ло немно́го рабо́ты and У меня́ не́ было мно́го рабо́ты. ?

Answer 1

The difference is the same as in other languages using different types of negation. Negation usually emphasizes the following word. When the verb is positive

У меня было немного работы(I had little work )

the focus is on the amount of work, that you still worked though not much.

When the verb is negative

У меня не было много работы(I didn't have much work, I didn't work much),

it means you weren't busy much. The focus is on the action.

Answer 2

У меня́ бы́ло немно́го рабо́ты = I had some work to do.

У меня́ не́ было мно́го рабо́ты. = I had quite a lot of spare time.