Difference between grande et grosse

GC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Difference between grande et grosse

Why is 

grandes quilles de bois acceptable but not grande boule de bois?

In the second example ‘grande’ is corrected to ‘grosse’.

Both are describing ‘big’ as in: 

-eight big wooden skittles

-a big wooden ball

Asked 1 year ago
MaartenC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

It is not always clear-cut but they are not directly interchangeable, and both have multiple uses. 

In this context though, ‘grand’ more commonly refers to a dimension - usually height (vertical piece of wood here), but can be length, whereas ‘gros’ is more about total size/volume (big round object/ball here). Worth looking at definitions in Larousse online, or similar, and the following link gives some practical information/advice 

https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-vocabulary/differences-among-gros-gras-grand/

GC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thanks, I can see the difference now. I didn't think further than the word itself '[big] rather than what type of 'big' it was describing.

Difference between grande et grosse

Why is 

grandes quilles de bois acceptable but not grande boule de bois?

In the second example ‘grande’ is corrected to ‘grosse’.

Both are describing ‘big’ as in: 

-eight big wooden skittles

-a big wooden ball

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
I'll be right with you...