Common Adjectives For Size And Shape

Learn common adjectives for size and shape. Don’t say “small” or “big.” Use better words to say “big.”

This English lesson is useful for students studying for IELTS, TOEFL, CAE, and other English proficiency exams, as well as those looking to improve their written and spoken English.

Listen to the podcast Speak Better English with Harry or watch it on YouTube at Learn English with Harry. englishclass101

Common Adjectives For Size And Shape

Harry

Harry is a native English teacher with over 10 years of experience both online and in face-to-face lessons. With his extensive experience in business, he specialises in Business English lessons but happily teaches ESL students with any English learning needs.

So in this advanced English lesson, we’re looking at collocations to do with size, dimensions and quantity.

Some of them are a little bit tricky on the tongue for pronunciation. So I’ll try and practice that at the same time. Any problems, you come back and you can ask me and we can go through it again.

So let me go through these English collocations. I’ve got 12 situations here that we can use with meanings and examples.

improve english on a budget

minuscule

Meaning: really really small, tiny

a minuscule piece of cloth

Examples:

She was wearing a very short skirt which her father described as minuscule.

My wife has me on a diet. I’m only getting minuscule portions for my dinner.

mammoth

Meaning: very big, large

a mammoth task/job

Examples:

It was a mammoth job, but we knew that we could do it over time.

Transferring all the data to the new system was a mammoth task.

Common Adjectives For Size And Shape

vast

Meaning: extremely big, huge

a vast room

Examples:

The ballroom was a vast room forty feet high, sixty feet in length, and as wide as it was high.

The parliamentary meeting room in government buildings is a vast room.

gigantic

Meaning: extremely large, greater than the average size or amount

a gigantic wave/statue

Example:

Tsunamis produce gigantic waves that come onto the shore and destroy all the buildings in close proximity to the shore.

book your trial English Lesson

gargantuan

Meaning: very large, enormous

a gargantuan meal/appetite

Examples:

It was a gargantuan meal that took several enjoyable hours to eat.

Climate change is a problem of gargantuan proportions.

itsy-bitsy

Meaning: extremely small, tiny

Example:

You’ll feel like Gulliver at a Lilliputian dinner party trying to sit at this itsy-bitsy table.

Here is the famous nursery rhyme for you:

The itsy-bitsy spider climbing up the spout.

Down came the rain

And washed the spider out.

Out came the sun

And dried up all the rain

And the itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the drain again.

There is a song as well:

An itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini…

tiny

Meaning: extremely small, almost impossible to see

a tiny spot/baby/flower

Examples:

I had to take my coat to the dry cleaners because there was a tiny spot on it.

There’s only a tiny spot on the coat. You’d hardly notice it.

Common Adjectives For Size And Shape

colossal

Meaning: huge, really big

a colossal sum of money

Example:

The highest amount won in EuroMillions is €190 million. It’s a colossal sum of money! What could you possibly do with that?

dainty

Meaning: small, delicate, often moving in a careful way

dainty feet/appearance

Examples:

Cinderella had dainty feet. She also had perfect skin, flaxen hair, and a heart of gold.

She had small dainty feet that suited her petite frame.

bulky

Meaning: big but awkward and difficult

bulky luggage

Examples:

Could you help me with this luggage? It’s really bulky and it needs two people.

Upon arrival, you can pick up your bulky baggage at the separate counter in the baggage hall, near carousel 7.

infinitesimal

Meaning: immeasurably small

an infinitesimal dose/number

Examples:

At the moment, solar panels and wind turbines provide an infinitesimal amount of the necessary energy.

They are ready to demonstrate that an infinitesimal dose of medicine has power.

dwarf

Meaning: very small

a dwarf cherry tree

Example:

If you have a small garden and want to grow cherries, you can opt for a dwarf cherry tree.

speak better English with Harry podcast- episode 406

Okay, so we’ve got lots of these expressions, these English collocations that are connected with dimensions, sizes, and quantity. Let me give them to you one more time:

a minuscule piece of cloth
a mammoth job
a vast room
a gigantic wave
a gargantuan meal
itsy-bitsy spider
a tiny spot
a colossal sum
dainty feet
bulky luggage
an infinitesimal dose (homoeopathy)
a dwarf cherry tree

Enjoy those particular collocations in his advanced English class. You’ll probably have to listen to it a couple of times.

Some of them are really difficult not only because of the meaning but also in terms of pronunciation.

So pick a few of them, and practice them. If you’re going to practice the pronunciation, try practising in front of the mirror or indeed use your mobile phone. Record yourself. Listen back and see where you have to make changes and listen to my pronunciation as well.

And if you need any further examples, you know the drill by now, come back to me and I’ll help you.

Don’t forget about our online English lessons with native teachers, book a trial.

Thanks for watching and listening. See you again soon.