"Sa famille est très grande."

Translation: His family is very large.

[ktfrench23]

if 'grande' can mean tall for a person, why can't it also mean tall, as opposed to big, when referring to a family?

[Sitesurf]

To comfort you, I would say that the French never know when to say big or large or wide.
Tall is somewhat easier: it is always grand to refer to people.

A few hints about the difference between grand (big, tall, great) and gros (big, fat, wide) in French:
• human beings: il est gros (fat), il est grand (tall), c'est un grand homme (great). Intentionally, "grand" is more appreciative than "gros": c'est un gros commerçant (making money); c'est un grand industriel (respectable).
• animals: un gros chien (contrary of "petit chien", so rather big); un grand chien (tall and slim)
• real things: gros manteau (thick/heavy), grosses chaussures (big/heavy), grande robe (long), grande avenue(wide), grand vin (great wine).
• concepts: un grand rire (big), un gros or grand chagrin (deep/great)

[cosentino]

Shouldn't "Ça famille..." (that family) also be acceptable? It sounds identical.

[Sitesurf]

It sounds identical, but "ça" is a pronoun (=cela), not an adjective, so it would not make any sense.

[cosentino]

good to know. thanks!

[LucasAugus4]

I got it right, but I still think it would make sense!
Like: Ça famille est très grande! --- That family is very big!
If you are at someplace and spot a really big family, I don't know :P

[LucasAugus4]

Oh, i get it know... It should be "Cette famille est..."... alright :P

[amuzulo]

Don't worry, I made the same mistake, and I'm sure I won't be the last one. :)

[graymelon]

How would you say "Her family is very tall"?

[Sitesurf]

"les membres de sa famille sont très grands"

[TwistedCosmos]

I submitted "Her family is really big" and it crossed the word really and put very instead...
I think both should be accepted

[Sitesurf]

No, because "really" = vraiment

[TwistedCosmos]

True thanks

[adam2347]

Bon, alors la bonne reponse est "grande" et pas "grand" parce que le mot "famille" est du genre feminin, oui?

[Sitesurf]

Oui, famille est du genre féminin, ainsi "sa" et "grande" le sont aussi.

[MichaelRGB]

So, why is "Her family is very fat" wrong? I mean -- sure -- it's rude, but is it wrong?

[Sitesurf]

"grand" does not mean fat:

• un homme grand = a tall man
• un grand homme = a great man
• une grande rivière = a large river
• une grande avenue = a broad avenue
• un grand arbre = a large tree

Big meaning fat is "gros, grosse, gros, grosses".

[MichaelRGB]

Thank you. I forgot about that distinction.

[Connor_Cullen71]

I put really not very...

[iamkurniawan]

Why 'so' as opposed to 'very' is wrong?

[JamesMcVin1]

I struggle with telling the difference between his and her. If 'sa' can mean both, is there an easy way to tell?

[mckimjan]

How would you say, "his family is very grand"?

[Aleppanen]

Can I ask, how do we know when grande is tall or large? When they say l'homme est grande, I put the man is large but it's marked wrong because they want tall. I don't quite get it.

[Sitesurf]

When an individual person is qualified as "un homme grand/un enfant grand/une personne grande", it means "tall".

"Un grand homme" is a great man, "un grand enfant" is a big child, and "une grande personne" is a grown-up.

"Une grande famille" should not be "tall" but "large", because it means that it has many members.

If you wanted to say that all members of the family are tall, you would say "tous les membres de la famille sont grands" or "ils sont tous grands dans cette famille".

[JackTian5]

there are multiple meanings here it can mean the size of the family is big (ie many members), the actual physical size of their bodies is big, or the family members are all tall

[Sitesurf]

If all members of the family were tall, the French would be "ils sont tous grands dans sa famille".