Assignment 4 - Use the concordance tools to to answer the following question

Question: Is there any rule governing the use of "big" and "large"? If yes, what is it? Use evidences to explain the major difference between the two words. Please limit your answer to 70 words.

These are some examples from BNC :

BIG:

1.The toilet's really big.

2.Big brother will be keeping an eye on things

3.They tell you only about the big names and the famous dates.

LARGE:

1.Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the garlic and cook for a few seconds.

2.A very large white bird.

3.Since a very large number of parents have objected to the tests, it seems the tests are not going to achieve that aim.

From these examples, we know that "LARGE" is usually used in describing that something is big in size or quantity.

e.g. large bird, a large number of

"BIG" indicates more meanings. It not only means big in size or amount but also has other abstract meaning.

The "big" in "big brother" means older, and "big name" represents a famous or important person. We won't use "large brother", it seems like a very strong brother.

Here are definitions from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

big adj

1.large in size or amount

2.older or more like an adult

3.used to add emphasis

large adj

1.big in size or amount