Small/short
Hi!
It's Lisa Scott with losemyaccent.com, where I help you speak English more clearly and
be understood more easily.
Today I'm answering a question about the difference between SHORT and SMALL.
Both adjectives describe the relative size of an object, but we do use them differently.
When we talk about something that is small, we are talking about its overall size relative
to other similar things.
Small is the opposite of LARGE.
For example, when you go to a fast food restaurant, you can order a drink that is small, medium,
or large.
The small drink will be in the smallest cup and will contain the least amount of liquid.
If you put a mouse and an elephant side by side, the mouse is small and the elephant
is large.
However, it is important to note that the size is relative.
In other words, something is only small when compared to something else.
So, the mouse is small when you compare it to an elephant, but when you compare it to
a fly, the mouse is large and the fly is small.
When we use the word SHORT, we are still talking about something that is small, but only in
terms of length or height.
SHORT is the opposite of LONG or TALL.
So, we hope to have a short line at the theater, because who wants to wait in a long line,
right?
When my hair gets too long, I get it cut, and then I have short hair.
You might have a short electrical cord that is not long enough to reach across the room
to the outlet.
Or, people might say that you are a short person if most other people are taller than
you.
I never considered myself to be short, but now both of my teenaged sons are taller than
me, so they tease me about being short.
So, SMALL refers to overall size and SHORT refers specifically to length or height.
And that's the long and short of it.
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See you next time!