If a pupil asks you whether or not they need to use tall or excessive, you might be very conscious of the distinction in utilization. Nevertheless, it’s probably that you’ll fall brief in terms of articulating what the distinction is.
There are some main tendencies in utilization between the adjectives tall and excessive when referring to vertical distance and the vertical extent of the topic.
However, this put up will argue that it’s important to seek the advice of corpora to look at the nouns which are modified by the 2 phrases. Finishing up such a search when evaluating synonymous lexical objects usually reveals that one of many phrases (i.e. excessive) tends for use in a metaphorical sense with extra summary nouns, whereas the opposite phrase steadily co-occurs with concrete nouns (on this case tall).
Tall or excessive? – Explaining the distinction
Tall and excessive are sometimes used interchangeably in spoken English. Due to this fact, it’s important to contemplate the contextual purposes of the 2 phrases to elucidate the distinction between them.
When can we use tall?
In English, we use the phrase tall to consult with the peak of an individual in addition to inanimate objects that are skinny and slim, in addition to tall. As an example, we will say:
- David is a extremely tall man
- Mark is actually tall for his age
- I can’t consider how tall that giraffe is
- There are some extremely tall
bushes in my native forest - that very tall, white constructing simply the place the motorway begins – that’s the place I work
Once we use tall, we’re actually desirous about the peak of a topic from prime to backside. Nevertheless, we don’t use it in relation to one thing’s distance above floor degree. For instance, we’d NOT say “that tall shelf is actually exhausting to succeed in”.
When can we use excessive?
The adjective, and certainly the adverb, excessive describes the gap of issues that are a great distance above the bottom. As I alluded to within the earlier part on tall, we additionally use excessive to refer to things which are past our attain:
- That shelf is actually excessive. I can’t attain it.
- How do you anticipate me to climb to the highest of this mountain? It’s approach too excessive!
One other perform of excessive is to explain the peak of inanimate objects, notably these which are wider than they’re tall:
- My parents-in-law have gotten a extremely excessive entrance gate
- John’s home is on the prime of a really excessive hill
Different inanimate objects which collocate with excessive:
- excessive ceiling
- excessive wall
- excessive heels
- excessive fence
- excessive curb
Evaluating tall and excessive
In sure contexts, it’s doable to make use of each tall and excessive. Nevertheless, they carry barely totally different meanings. When you’re confused over their use, the next comparability ought to assist to make clear the scenario:
(a) Jeddah Tower is 1 km tall
(b) Jeddah Tower is 1 km excessive
On this scenario, tall refers back to the top of Jeddah Tower in a numerical sense. Nevertheless, excessive may describe objects of extraordinary top or distinctive distances from the bottom. Certainly, when accomplished, there received’t be any buildings on the earth which are ‘increased’ than Jeddah Tower. General, we could use excessive for emphatic impact.
Utilizing corpora to get to know tendencies within the utilization of phrases
This put up has to date supplied a really common dictionary-like overview of the “tall or excessive” debate.
As I pressured in my earlier put up on the use of corpora in English language instructing, it’s solely while you flip to corpora that you just actually discover out the tendencies in utilization of two synonymous lexical objects, equivalent to tall and excessive.
Tsui (2004) discusses Tall versus excessive in a bit titled ‘Synonymous lexical objects’. The writer refers to a corpora search carried out by employees on the Lecturers of English Language Training Centre (TELEC) in Hong Kong. Basically, TELEC employees searched the Trendy English Corpus (MEC) in its personal self-created TeleCorpora in an effort to study the nouns which had been modified by tall and excessive. Tsui’s (2004, p.45) notes the next in relation to the search:
there was an inclination for “excessive” for use in a metaphorical sense with extra summary nouns whereas “tall” tended for use extra steadily with concrete nouns equivalent to folks, bushes and buildings.
Tsui (2004, p.46) refers to an additional evaluation of the MEC which revealed that there are 1,779 situations of excessive in contrast with solely 96 circumstances of tall. Aside from 9 situations through which tall is used idiomatically, equivalent to “a tall order”, the remainder are used within the context of speaking in regards to the top of individuals, buildings, and different objects and buildings. On this explicit evaluation, the best frequency of tall co-occurs with folks (roughly 50%) adopted by buildings and buildings (about 35%). In different phrases, the semantic potentialities of tall are considerably restricted. Conversely, the contexts through which excessive was discovered within the MEC turned out to be rather more wide-ranging, together with quantity, depth, high quality and relative amount.
Tall and excessive within the British Nationwide Corpus
Undoubtedly, the British Nationwide Corpus (BNC) accommodates a a lot bigger number of texts than the MEC in TeleCorpora. A easy search within the BNC of the only phrase excessive returns 37,700 situations however solely 4,296 situations of tall.
Utilizing the collocates show, I broke down these outcomes to evaluate typical post-position collocates of excessive and tall. Listed below are the outcomes for the highest 40 collocates with each phrases:
1. Tall
In relation to tall, there’s a noticeable emphasis on the peak of individuals and inanimate objects within the outcomes:
- tall man
- tall bushes
- tall boy
- tall buildings
- tall lady
- tall chimney/s
- tall plant
- tall tower/s
- tall homes
Due to this fact, the BNC confirms the idea regarding tall which I outlined earlier. Particularly, tall tends to consult with the peak of individuals and inanimate objects that are skinny and slim. The adjective tall usually co-exists with correct nouns.
As for the collocates of excessive, there are few situations of utilization within the context of the measurement of issues, for instance, “excessive mountains” and “excessive tower”.
Setting the variety of hits to 600, there’s a smattering of situations the place excessive is used as a part of a correct noun, most notably ‘Excessive Courtroom’ (place 1 – 1715 situations) and ‘Excessive Road’ (place 2 – 1157 situations).
In contrast with tall, excessive collocates with way more summary nouns, equivalent to ‘excessive hopes’ (136 situations) and ‘excessive intelligence’ (27 situations). One of many fundamental conclusions to attract right here is that excessive is used a lot much less steadily to point measurement in top.
Nevertheless, there are numerous situations within the BNC the place excessive is used to point amount, frequency and depth:
- excessive degree / excessive ranges (1533 situations for each)
- excessive proportion (505 situations)
- excessive diploma (473 situations)
- excessive pace / excessive speeds (480 situations for each)
- excessive charge/excessive charges (355 situations for each)
- excessive incidence (121 situations)
- excessive ratio (27 situations)
Last Ideas – Tall or Excessive?
General, this put up has highlighted the significance of consulting corpora to disclose the intricate variations in utilization between two synonymous lexical objects. As an example, I’d by no means have guessed that we use excessive to such a terrific extent in an emphatic and metaphorical sense with extra summary nouns.
The British Nationwide Corpus has nearly grow to be my Bible in terms of planning workout routines for my college students primarily based on, for instance, delexical verbs and synonymous lexical objects. I’ll actually flip to the BNC after I discover the similarities and variations in utilization between massive and giant in a future put up.
Reference:
Davies, M. (2004) British Nationwide Corpus (from Oxford College Press). Out there on-line at https://www.english-corpora.org/bnc/
Tsui, A.B.M. (2004) ‘What lecturers have at all times wished to know’, in Sinclair, J.McH (ed.) How to make use of Corpora in Language Instructing, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Firm, pp.39-61