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Martin, I think I have found the perfectapartment.
That sounds exciting.
It has a big living room, a big balcony, and a bigamount of natural light.
Julia, the apartment may be perfect, but thatdescription is not.
What is wrong with big?
Nothing. But you have used it three times, andeach time you mean something slightly different.
I suppose this is becoming a vocabulary lesson.
A substantial vocabulary lesson.
Substantial?
We will come back to that word. Welcome to yourEnglish Toolbox and Practice Arena
5-Minute English. I am Martin.
And I am Julia. Today we are replacing big withthree more precise words. Spacious,
enormous, and substantial.
Let us begin with the living room.
There is plenty of space to move around. It feelsopen and comfortable.
Then the living room is spacious.
Spacious means having plenty of space inside.
We normally use it for places such as rooms,houses, offices, cars, or gardens.
A spacious kitchen.
A spacious apartment.
A spacious waiting room.
Exactly.
So spacious does not simply mean physically big.
Correct. A room can be quite large but still feelcrowded.
Too much furniture.
Or too many enormous suitcases.
We are not discussing my suitcases again.
Not today.
The important idea is that spacious describes theexperience of having enough room.
Yes, if a place feels open and comfortable,spacious is often better than big.
Now let us talk about the balcony.
How large is it?
It is almost the same size as the living room.
That sounds enormous.
Enormous means extremely large in size, quantity,or degree.
It is much stronger than big.
An enormous building.
An enormous crowd.
An enormous amount of work.
And you can also make an enormous mistake.
Even if the mistake has no physical size?
Exactly. Enormous can emphasize the degree orseriousness of something.
03:03
So an enormous balcony is surprisingly large.
Yes, but a spacious balcony focuses more on thecomfortable space available.
The same place could be both spacious andenormous.
It could.
The words overlap, but they create differentpictures.
Spacious says, there is plenty of room.
Enormous says, this is extremely large.
Now we need substantial.
You said the apartment receives a big amount ofnatural light.
Yes, sunlight enters through six windows.
Then you could say that the apartment receives asubstantial amount of natural light.
Substantial means large in amount, value,importance, or effect.
It is more formal than big or enormous.
We often use it with nouns such as amount,difference, increase, investment, meal, and
evidence.
A substantial amount.
A substantial improvement.
A substantial investment.
And a substantial meal is large enough to satisfyyou.
Exactly.
It is not just a big plate.
It is a considerable and satisfying quantity offood.
Could I say a substantial living room?
It is possible, but it would sound less natural inan everyday apartment description.
Spacious is the clearer choice there.
Yes, collocation matters.
English words prefer particular partners.
Spacious room.
Enormous building.
Substantial amount.
Perfect.
Time for a quick challenge.
Choose spacious, enormous, or substantial before Ianswer.
Situation 1.
This hotel room has plenty of space for fourpeople and their luggage.
Spacious.
Situation 2.
The company made a large financial investment innew technology.
Substantial.
Situation 3.
A whale appeared beside the boat.
It was unbelievably large.
Enormous.
Final situation.
The new windows created a large and noticeableimprovement in the room.
A substantial improvement.
Excellent.
Now describe something around you.
Is your room spacious?
Is the building enormous?
Or have you made substantial progress with yourEnglish?
Quick recap.
Spacious means having plenty of room inside.
Enormous means extremely large in size, quantity,or degree.
And substantial means large in amount, importance,value, or effect.
On the episode page at YourEnglishToolbox.com,
06:03
you can compare every sentence with Spanish,German, French, or Farsi.
Seeing the same idea in both languages helps younotice
small differences that a simple word list cannotshow.
The direct link is waiting for you in the episodedescription.
Now, Julia, are you going to rent this apartment?
I am still thinking about it.
What is the problem?
The apartment is spacious and the balcony isenormous.
That sounds perfect.
Unfortunately, the rent is also substantial.
That is a very precise reason to keep looking.
And a very expensive vocabulary lesson.
See you next time, friends.
Goodbye.