Your professional help to improve your written English

Month: July 2019

Big, large and great

Can you sort out big, large and great?

Generally speaking, big describes weight or extent, large is often related to dimensions or volume and great suggests something impressive. Great is often used with abstract nouns.

BIG

Big is used more often than large. In fact, big is one of the most frequent words in the English language. Big may also sound a little less formal than large.

They have a big mansion in the countryside.

Big often means important, powerful, successful:
That’s a big decision.
He is a big tycoon in the automotive industry.

Big can also mean older or elder:
My big brother has helped me a lot.

LARGE

As mentioned above, large often refers to dimension or volume.
They have a large house with a very large garden.
I have a large collection of posters from the 1960s.

A large black bird with its wings stretched out is silhouetted against the sky
A large bird or, if you like, a big bird

Large is more common with some quantity words such as the following:
A large amount
A large number
To a large extent
On a large scale
A large percentage
A large quantity

With food and clothes we use large:
I’d like a large coffee, please.
Those shoes are too large for you.

Large, not big, is used in the combination small, medium, large.

The expression at large has two meanings, 1) free, at liberty and 2) as a whole, in general:
The prisoner is still at large.
These findings relate to society at large.

Big and large are only used with countable nouns (read here about countable and uncountable nouns).
You cannot talk about *big traffic or *large traffic (for the use of the asterisk, read at the end of this text). Instead we use heavy traffic, intense traffic or a lot of traffic.

Big and large often overlap in meaning when we talk about size.
A big house.
A large house.

It is sometimes said that big implies an element of emotion, surprise, etc., especially in fixed expressions such as the following:
Big deal!
She’s a big fan of the Rolling Stones.
He’s a big liar.

A big-headed man is not the same as a large-headed man! A big-headed man thinks he is more important or cleverer than others, while a large-headed man just has a large head.

Susan is my big sister – she is older than me.
Susan is my large sister – she is physically larger than my other siblings.

GREAT

Great implies a large size:
All creatures great and small.

Great often means distinguished, remarkable:
She is one of the greatest novelists of our time.
The performance was a great success.
I have great respect for her abilities.
He has great wisdom.
My cousin is really great at tennis.

To vary your language, you should use synonyms. In a dictionary of synonyms you will find many words to describe size or importance, such as huge, enormous, sizeable, impressive, momentous, substantial, comprehensive, extensive, immense, tremendous, prominent, distinguished, etc.

What’s the difference between -ic and -ical?

The endings -ic and -ical may cause confusion. They both have the meaning of related to or characterised by.

The ending -ic is more common. Here are some examples:
academic
anestethic
athletic
chaotic
episodic
linguistic
melodic
neurotic
parodic
patriotic
poetic
rhapsodic
sympathetic
synthetic

The adjective ending -ical is common with nouns ending in -ology.
anthropological
biological
geological
physiological
theological

Nouns ending in -ic take the ending -ical as adjectives:
clinical
musical
sceptical

There are adjectives that have different meanings when they end in -ic and -ical:

CLASSIC is used to denote a standard, the highest quality or having lasting worth:
Over 200 classic motorcycles are on display at the motor show.
She wore a casual but classic outfit.

Interior of a red Fiat 500 with steering wheel,  dashboard and pedals visible
The Fiat Cinquecento is a classic car.

The Classics refers to the literature of ancient Greece or Rome:
I’ve always wanted to read the Classics but I never seem to have time.

CLASSICAL refers to the culture of ancient Greece or Rome or to European music from the 18th and 19th centuries:
In Italy a classical education is considered valuable also in business.
Beethoven was arguably the greatest composer in the transition between classical and romantic music.

Classical can also refer to established principles in, e.g. physics:
Classical mechanics is based on Newton’s general principles.

ECONOMIC refers to economy:
Economic growth had never been stronger.

ECONOMICAL means being efficient or careful about spending money:
Modern cars are much more economical.

(You can read about the difference between economy and economics here.)

ELECTRIC refers to machines or instruments powered by electricity:
Electric cars are becoming very popular in Norway.

ELECTRICAL means related to electricity:
He is an electrical engineer.
The fire was started by some electrical fault.

HISTORIC
To denote something important in history we use historic:
This was a historic moment for our country.
You must visit the town’s historic houses and gardens.

HISTORICAL
Historical means related to or having to do with history or past events:
In my youth I liked to read historical novels.

Adjectives ending in -ic and -ical have the adverbial form -ically (but the word public takes the form publicly).

© 2024 copyeditor.se

Theme by Anders NorénUp ↑