Grand or gros: tall people, large rooms and bulky objects
Choose grand or gros with a tall person, a large room and a thick book. Study agreement, compare picture cards and try four focused questions.
In short
Grand describes a tall person or something large in overall size: une grande femme, une grande salle. Gros often highlights bulk, thickness or a substantial amount: un gros sac, un gros problème. For a person’s height, use grand.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out
grand / grandetall; large; great
Focus: height, overall extent or importance
un grand + noun / être grand
Ma sœur est grande.
My sister is tall.
Nous cherchons une grande salle.
We are looking for a large room.
gros / grossebig; bulky; substantial
Focus: volume, thickness or a large amount
un gros + noun / une grosse + noun
Ce gros livre a six cents pages.
This thick book has six hundred pages.
Nous avons un gros problème.
We have a major problem.
Four kinds of size
Find:
What is the difference between grand and gros?
- Agent
Voici le salon.
Here is the living room.
- Maya
La pièce est grande ! Notre table va rentrer.
The room is large! Our table will fit.
- Agent
Et le placard est assez grand pour vos affaires.
And the cupboard is big enough for your things.
- Maya
Parfait. Nous avons de grosses boîtes de livres.
Perfect. We have bulky boxes of books.
- Agent
Vous avez beaucoup de livres ?
Do you have a lot of books?
- Maya
Oui, surtout de gros livres de cuisine.
Yes, especially thick cookbooks.
| Agreement | grand | gros |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | grand | gros |
| Feminine singular | grande | grosse |
| Masculine plural | grands | gros |
| Feminine plural | grandes | grosses |
Grand and gros usually come before the noun in these everyday size phrases. The masculine plural gros keeps the same spelling. With people, Il est gros describes body size and can sound blunt. Il est grand tells you he is tall.
Mon frère est grand : il mesure 1,80 m.
My brother is tall: he is one metre eighty tall.
What else can grand and gros mean?
C’est un grand musicien.
He is a great musician.
Before a profession, grand can praise achievement.
Le déménagement représente un gros effort.
Moving house involves a substantial effort.
A box can be grande or grosse: one speaker focuses on its dimensions, another on its bulk. Add the detail that matters: La boîte est trop grande pour le placard. That tells the listener why the size is a problem.