big, large and great

Concrete nouns: usually big or large

With concrete nouns – the names of things you can see, touch, etc – we mostly use big and large. Big is most common in an informal style.

• Get your big feet off my flowers.
• She is a small woman, but she has very large hands.
• It was a large house, situated near the river.

great with concrete nouns

Great is not normally used simply to talk about physical size. In an informal style, it is often used with concrete nouns to mean ‘wonderful’.

• I’ve just got a great new bike.

And it can also be used with meanings like ‘large and impressive’.

• Great clouds of smoke rose above the burning cathedral.

Another meaning is ‘famous’ or ‘important’.

• Do you think Napoleon was really a great man?

Abstract nouns: usually great

Great is common with abstract nouns – the names of things you cannot see, touch, etc.

• I have great respect for her ideas. (not big/large respect)
• His behaviour caused great annoyance. (not big/large annoyance)
• You are making a great mistake.
• Her work showed a great improvement last year.

Big can be used with countable abstract nouns in an informal style.

• You’re making a big mistake.
• Big bargains for weekend shoppers!

Large is used with countable abstract nouns referring to quantities, amounts and proportions.

• We’re thinking of giving your company a very large order.
• There was a large error in the accounts.
• She spent large sums on entertaining.
• He wrote a large part of the book while he was in prison.

Big and large are not generally used with uncountable nouns – but note the fixed expressions big business, big trouble.

large and wide

Large is a ‘false friend’ for speakers of some languages. It does not mean ‘wide’.

• The river is 100 metres wide. (not … 100 metres large.)

note

For wide and broad, (see here).