Hi! It's Lisa Scott with losemyaccent.com, where I help you speak English more clearly

and be understood more easily. Today I'm answering a question about the difference between SHORT

and SMALL. Both adjectives describe the relative size of an object, but we do use them differently.

When we talk about something that is small, we are talking about its overall size relative

to other similar things. Small is the opposite of LARGE. For example, when you go to a fast

food restaurant, you can order a drink that is small, medium, or large. The small drink

will be in the smallest cup and will contain the least amount of liquid. If you put a mouse

and an elephant side by side, the mouse is small and the elephant is large. However,

it is important to note that the size is relative. In other words, something is only small when

compared to something else. So, the mouse is small when you compare it to an elephant,

but when you compare it to a fly, the mouse is large and the fly is small.

When we use the word SHORT, we are still talking about something that is small, but only in

terms of length or height. SHORT is the opposite of LONG or TALL. So, we hope to have a short

line at the theater, because who wants to wait in a long line, right? When my hair gets

too long, I get it cut, and then I have short hair. You might have a short electrical cord

that is not long enough to reach across the room to the outlet. Or, people might say that

you are a short person if most other people are taller than you. I never considered myself

to be short, but now both of my teenaged sons are taller than me, so they tease me about

being short.

So, SMALL refers to overall size and SHORT refers specifically to length or height. And

that's the long and short of it.

For more tips on improving your English, get your free guide by visiting my website at

losemyaccent.com. See you next time!