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Great vs The - What's the difference?

great | the |

As adverbs the difference between great and the

is that great is very well in a very satisfactory manner while the is with a comparative or more and a verb phrase, establishes a parallel with one or more other such comparatives.

As an adjective great

is very big, large scale.

As an interjection great

is expression of gladness and content about something.

As a noun great

is a person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim.

As an article the is

Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that an entity it articulates is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in that same sentence, or assumed already completely specified.

great

English

(wikipedia great)

Adjective

(er)
  • Very big, large scale.
  • :
  • *{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
  • , chapter=1 citation , passage=“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like // Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=7 citation , passage=‘Children crawled over each other like little grey worms in the gutters,’ he said. ‘The only red things about them were their buttocks and they were raw. Their faces looked as if snails had slimed on them and their mothers were like great sick beasts whose byres had never been cleared.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Timothy Garton Ash)
  • , volume=189, issue=6, page=18, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli , passage=Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.}}
  • Very good.
  • :
  • *, chapter=5
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights,
  • Important.
  • *(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • *:He doth object I am too great of birth.
  • *
  • *:“[…] We are engaged in a great work, a treatise on our river fortifications, perhaps? But since when did army officers afford the luxury of amanuenses in this simple republic?”
  • Title referring to an important leader.
  • :
  • Superior; admirable; commanding; applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings.
  • :
  • Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble.
  • :
  • (lb) Pregnant; large with young.
  • *(Bible), (Psalms) lxxviii. 71
  • *:the ewes great with young
  • More than ordinary in degree; very considerable.
  • :
  • *(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • *:We have all / Great' cause to give ' great thanks.
  • *
  • *:Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor;.
  • *'>citation
  • Intimate; familiar.
  • *(Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
  • *:those that are so great with him
  • Usage notes

    In simple situations, using modifiers of intensity such as fairly'', ''somewhat , etc. can lead to an awkward construction, with the exception of certain common expressions such as “so great” and “really great”. In particular “very great” is unusually strong as a reaction, and in many cases “great” or its meaning of “very good” will suffice.

    Synonyms

    * See also * See also

    Derived terms

    * great big * great chamber * great hall * great room * greatly * greatness

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • Expression of gladness and content about something.
  • Great! Thanks for the wonderful work.
  • sarcastic inversion thereof.
  • Oh, great! I just dumped all 500 sheets of the manuscript all over and now I have to put them back in order.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim.
  • Newton and Einstein are two of the greats of the history of science.
  • A course of academic study devoted to the works of such persons and also known as Literae Humaniores ; the "Greats" name has official status with respect to 's program and is widely used as a colloquialism in reference to similar programs elsewhere.
  • Spencer read Greats at Oxford, taking a starred first.
  • (music) The main division in a pipe organ, usually the loudest division.
  • Adverb

    (-)
  • very well (in a very satisfactory manner)
  • Those mechanical colored pencils work great because they don't have to be sharpened.

    Derived terms

    * greatly * greatness (compound terms) * just great * great big * great aunt * Great Dane * great-granddaughter * great granddaughter * great-grandfather * great grandfather * great-grandmother * great grandmother * great-grandson * great grandson * great uncle * Great Wall of China * great white shark

    Statistics

    *

    the

    English

    Alternative forms

    * e (archaic): variant spelling of the . * (archaic) * da, teh, le (informal) * t' (Northern England)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl), from (etyl) .

    Article

    (head)
  • I’m reading the''' book.'' (Compare ''I’m reading '''a book. )
    The''' street in front of your house.'' (Compare '''''A street in Paris. )
    The''' men and women watched '''the''' man give '''the''' birdseed to '''the bird.
  • Used before an object considered to be unique, or of which there is only one at a time.
  • No one knows how many galaxies there are in the universe.
    God save the Queen!
  • That apple pie was the best.
  • * 1994 , Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom , Abacus 2010, page 536:
  • Stern and God-fearing, the Afrikaner takes his religion seriously.
  • Feed the''' hungry, clothe '''the''' naked, comfort '''the''' afflicted, and afflict '''the comfortable.
  • Used to indicate a certain example of (a noun) which is most usually of concern, or most common or familiar.
  • No one in the whole country had seen it before.
    I don't think I'll get to it until the morning.
  • A stone hit him on the head. (= “A stone hit him on his head.”)
  • That is'' the ''hospital to go to for heart surgery.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012
  • , date=May 27 , author=Nathan Rabin , title=TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992) , work=The Onion AV Club , url=http://www.avclub.com/articles/new-kid-on-the-block,75341/ , page= , passage=“New Kid On The Block” doubles as a terrific showcase for the Sea Captain who, in the grand tradition of Simpsons supporting characters, quickly goes from being a stereotype to an archetype, from being a crusty sea-captain character to the crusty sea-captain character.}}
    Usage notes
    The word the precedes proper nouns in a number of cases, although most proper nouns use no article. There are always exceptions. See also for more information. ; Countries ** As a general rule, country names are not preceded by the . There are a few exceptions, most of which are pluralised: * The Netherlands * The Bahamas * The Solomon Islands * The Maldives * The Seychelles * The Philippines * The Yemen (can also be used without an article) * The Sudan (can also be used without an article) * The Ukraine (article dropped since 1991) * The Lebanon (usually used without the article) ** Names of countries containing specifications like kingdom', '''republic etc are used with ''the : * The United States * The United Kingdom * The United Arab Emirates * The Czech Republic ; Place names ** Some place names use a definite article * All oceans (The Atlantic Ocean, The Pacific Ocean) * All seas (The Red Sea, The Bering Sea, The Caribbean Sea), and straits (The Strait of Magellan, the Bering Strait, The Bosphorus) * All rivers (The Amazon, The Nile, The Mississippi, The Seine, The Yangtze), canals (The Panama Canal, The Suez Canal) and deltas (The Nile Delta, The Orinoco Delta, The Colorado River Delta) * All art galleries (The Tate, The Louvre, The Smithsonian American Art Museum), all museums with the word museum in the name (The National Museum of Natural History, The British Museums) * Most English-language newspapers (The New York Times, The Guardian, The Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal) ; Bands ** Musical bands with a plural name are generally used with the : * The Beatles * The Rolling Stones ; Universities ** University names beginning with the word "University", and some other university names, are used with the : * The University of North Carolina * The Ohio State University * When used before an adjective which is not followed by a noun, it may refer to a group of people for which the adjective is appropriate: ** the Scottish = Scots ** the rich = rich people (considered as a group)
    Derived terms
    * nevertheless * nonetheless * the heck * the hell * the man * the one

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl), from (etyl) .

    Adverb

    (-)
  • With a comparative or more and a verb phrase, establishes a parallel with one or more other such comparatives.
  • The''' hotter, '''the better.
    The''' more I think about it, '''the weaker it looks.
    The''' more money donated, '''the''' more books purchased, and '''the more happy children.
    It looks weaker and weaker, the more I think about it.
  • It was a difficult time, but I’m the wiser for it.
    It was a difficult time, and I’m none the wiser for it.
    I'm much the wiser for having had a difficult time like that.

    See also

    * a * an * (slang) da * (slang) de * t’ * that * this *

    Statistics

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