In regard to "In Spain, there is a large family of potters" has the hint: "put "large" in front of "family", potter = alfarero/a".
The first hint seems a little misleading. Shouldn't we use "familia grande" and not "gran familia" if we are translating large family since it describes the size of the family rather than the quality/inherent characteristic of greatness of the family?
Hola L. B.
That’s a very good observation! In Spanish, there is a subtle but important difference between gran familia and familia grande.
Gran familia usually conveys the idea of a family with prestige, importance, or warmth. It can also mean “a big family” in terms of size, but it often carries this extra nuance of something special or remarkable.
For example:
could mean both “It’s a large family of artists” and “It’s a great/remarkable family of artists.”
Familia grande, on the other hand, refers more literally to the physical size or number of members.
For example:
means “I have a large family” (many brothers, sisters, etc.), without any implied prestige.
So in the sentence “In Spain, there is a large family of potters”, gran familia de alfareros is the natural choice in Spanish, because it can capture both the sense of size and of noteworthiness, which is typical in cultural or historical contexts.
Hope this clears it up!
Saludos
Silvia
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