Assignment 4

I use OXFROD dictionary to look up for "big" and "large" English definitions, and I use WebCOLL to find which word can put behind them. 

  big adj.
1. large in size, degree, amount, etc.
e.g. It’s the world’s biggest computer company.

2. (informal) older
e.g.  You’re a big girl now.

3. important; serious
e.g. She took the stage for her big moment.

The followings are the words which people put behind of "big" and it's frequence in top 10.
 hit 1396
 brother 665
 band 647
 break 573
 city 552
 name 446
 success 401
 fan 334
 problem 331
 screen 317


large adj.
1. big in size or quantity
e.g. A large proportion of old people live alone.


2. wide in range and involving many things
e.g. Some drugs are being used on a much larger scale than previously.

The followings are the words which people put behind of "large" and it's frequence in top 10.
 number 12617
 amount 4316
 part 3514
 city 2912
 scale 2135
 area 1714
 group 1622
 portion 1373
 quantity 1306
 population 925

According to the WebCOLL and OXFROD dictionary, I find that there is no obvious difference from "big" and "large". Their common meanings is similar, but which word can put behind of "big" or "large"? In my opinion, I think that people use them in the habit.