Size words
Size words tell the reader how big or small something is.
- big, huge, giant, large
- small, little, tiny
- tall, short, long, wide
“A huge dog ran past us.”
Swap the size word and the picture changes completely.
“A tiny dog ran past us.”
Size words come in pairs
| Word | Its opposite |
|---|---|
| big | small |
| tall | short |
| long | short |
| wide | narrow |
Notice that “short” turns up twice. It works for how tall something is. It also works for how long something is.
Size depends on what you compare it to
A big ant is still smaller than a small dog. A size word tells you about the thing next to it. It does not tell you about everything.
When somebody says “a big spider” they mean big for a spider.
That is worth knowing. It explains why one word can go with two very different things.
Size and color together
“a big brown bear”
“a tiny green frog”
Read those aloud. The size word comes first. The color word comes second. English nearly always puts them in that order.
Try flipping one. “a brown big bear” sounds wrong even though every word is the same. Your ear knows the order already.
Your turn
Name the size word.
- “a tall ladder”
- “the tiny bug”
- “a wide river”
- “a long rope”
Check your answers
- “tall”
- “tiny”
- “wide”
- “long”
Remember
- Size words tell how big or small something is.
- Most size words have an opposite.
- The size word usually comes before the color word.