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Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006big and large
When should I use "big" instead of "large"? Also, If big is opposite to small and large is opposite to little, then why do I drink a small whisky followed by a large gin and tonic? Thanks again > When should I use "big" instead of "large"? > > Also, If big is opposite to small and large is opposite to > little, then why do I drink a small whisky followed by a large > gin and tonic? It certainly sounds crazy to me to drink a large gin and tonic after any whiskey at all. I give up. Why in the hell do you do such a weird thing? Or, equally possible, I suppose, why in the hell is that large G&T following your small whiskey? Is the G&T a rummy dick and the small whiskey a corny perp?  SignatureFranke: EFL teacher & medical editor Native speaker of American English; posting from Taiwan. Unmunged email: /at/easypeasy.com "Impatience is the mother of misery." > > When should I use "big" instead of "large"? > > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > G&T following your small whiskey? Is the G&T a rummy dick and the > small whiskey a corny perp? It was a hypothetical comment, I never drink that combination, or perhaps I don't remember afterwards. >> When should I use "big" instead of "large"? >> [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > G&T following your small whiskey? Is the G&T a rummy dick and the > small whiskey a corny perp? Carlos didn't mention whiskey at all. SignatureLinz Wet Yorks via Cambridge, York, London and Watford My accent may vary > dontbother wrote: >> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Carlos didn't mention whiskey at all. True. He did say something about drinking a little broom, though. Close enough. SignatureFranke: EFL teacher & medical editor Native speaker of American English; posting from Taiwan. Unmunged email: /at/easypeasy.com "Impatience is the mother of misery." > When should I use "big" instead of "large"? > > Also, If big is opposite to small and large is opposite to little, > then why do I drink a small whisky followed by a large gin and > tonic? It is more accurate to say that "big" is opposed to "little" and "large" is opposed to "small". > > When should I use "big" instead of "large"? > > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > It is more accurate to say that "big" is opposed to "little" and > "large" is opposed to "small". As in little big man for example? Jan >>> When should I use "big" instead of "large"? >>> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > As in little big man for example? Two states warring within the bosom of a single First Nationsperson. >>When should I use "big" instead of "large"? >> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > It is more accurate to say that "big" is opposed to "little" and > "large" is opposed to "small". That explains why I felt slightly offended at a recent newspaper article that used "big amounts" instead of "large amounts". I nearly posted about it at the time, but thought it too trivial. SignatureRob Bannister >>>When should I use "big" instead of "large"? >>> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >that used "big amounts" instead of "large amounts". I nearly posted >about it at the time, but thought it too trivial. Post away; I'd call that a major error, especially when compared to some we've discussed. SignatureCharles Riggs > When should I use "big" instead of "large"? > > Also, If big is opposite to small and large is opposite to little, then > why do I drink a small whisky followed by a large gin and tonic? > > Thanks again "Big" tends to sound less formal than "large", and tends to be used more in speech than in writing (formal writing, at any rate). For example, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalith we read: "A megalith is a large stone which has been used to construct..." In this sort of formal setting it would be a little odd to read: "A megalith is a big stone which has been used to construct..." However, apart from stock phrases ("he has a big mouth", "as large as life" etc.), I'm struggling to think of any example where changing "big" to "large" (or vice versa) would actually be incorrect. > When should I use "big" instead of "large"? I don't think there is any logic to it. In any given context one sounds more natural to a native speaker than another, but it's hopeless trying to say why. So far as opposites are concerned, "big" can go with either "small" or "little", but "large" normally only goes with "small". To complicate matters further, three of these words have compareative and superlative forms (bigger, biggest, etc.), but "little " does not: "littler" and "littlest" are used by small children speaking with one another, and by adults talking to small children, but not, on the whole, between adults. Once you have all these sorted out you can start fitting "great" into the scheme. As for "large", it is interesting that its cognates in French, Spanish and Italian mean "wide", "long" and "slow" respectively, thus accounting for three of the four dimensions in space-time. Does anyone know of a language where the cognate means "deep"? athel >> When should I use "big" instead of "large"? >> >I don't think there is any logic to it. In any given context one sounds >more natural to a native speaker than another, but it's hopeless trying >to say why. I think there's a small er I mean little bit of logic to it. Let's look at some okay uses of "big"/"large", with not-quite-convincing ones marked "* (?)", dodgy ones marked "*?", and dead-wrong ones marked "*". A large [*? big] sum of money was found under the floorboards. I had a big [* large] argument with my husband last night There's a big [large] difference between one and the other. A big [*(?) large]truck came and took everything away. The flat has a big [large] bedroom but the kitchen's tiny. As his big [* large] finale, the magician.... This suggests --only suggests, mind; it certainly doesn't prove anything -- that when we're describing physical size in three dimensions we can use either "big" or "large" (see the "truck" and "bedroom" examples). As for the rest, I have no idea. The "argument" and "finale" examples seem to show that when it means "massive" in a figurative sense we prefer "big", but this is clearly rubbished by the "difference" example. Or perhaps arguments and finales can be loud and violent, unlike differences (hmm, thinking aloud now -- time to shut up). I know that EFL students are taught that "big" goes with "little" and is lower register than "large"/"small", but that seems to be simplifying things beyond what is going to be helpful to anyone except elementary students. (Oddly, though, it's not something that came up much when I taught EFL.) My copy of Swan is in a virtual box (hi, Mike!), so I can't check whether he covers it or not. SignatureMillicent Tendency (TEFKATHE) [...] > I know that EFL students are taught that "big" goes with "little" and > is lower register than "large"/"small", but that seems to be [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > My copy of Swan is in a virtual box (hi, Mike!), so I can't check > whether he covers it or not. 'day, Millie! Because it was in with the dictionaries, mine isn't so cabined, cribb'd, or confined. I can therefore report that Swan says "big" is more conversational than "large" for physical size, and than "great" for abstract senses ("a big/great mistake" etc). For uncountables, only "great" is usually used. I do remember some Arabs having the idea that "big" and "large" had different meanings -- I never got to the bottom of what they meant, but I think this may have been confused interference from French. SignatureMike. >> When should I use "big" instead of "large"? >> [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Once you have all these sorted out you can start fitting "great" into > the scheme. That would be for balls of fire, innit? SignatureSkitt (in Hayward, California) http://www.geocities.com/opus731/ >When should I use "big" instead of "large"? > >Also, If big is opposite to small and large is opposite to little, then >why do I drink a small whisky followed by a large gin and tonic? Incipient alcoholism. Cheers - Ian |
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