Learn English – Difference between “big and great”

differencegrammaticalitymeaningusage

What is the difference between big and great?

For example:

"The government has spent a big deal of money attempting to help the
region."

Can I use "great" in this sentence?

And for the below sentence:

"I don't really care about failing the exam. It's no great deal,
really.

Can I use "big" in this sentence? If no why not?

"It was time for her to make the big or great decision should she
agree to marry him?"

Which one is correct? "great or big" ?

Best Answer

The government has spent a great deal of money attempting to help the region.

is the best sounding choice to me. Probably context has a lot to do with it.
For example, big is better here:

I don't really care about failing the exam. It's no big deal, really.

And the last example (including a different grammar correction):

It was time for her to make the big decision. Should she agree to marry him?

or

It was time for her to make the big decision should she agree to marry him.

But in another context:

You made a lot of money. That was a great decision.

In these kinds of examples, great refers to something very positive or beneficial (or very negative or disasterous), while "big" has more to do with the importance of something (as in the marriage decision).

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