great/big fan of...

ashu   Mon May 05, 2008 9:01 am GMT
I've thinking about this for some time and still don't know which one is correct? Wich one do you use?
Guest   Mon May 05, 2008 10:56 am GMT
both
Skippy   Mon May 05, 2008 1:38 pm GMT
Big
Earle   Mon May 05, 2008 9:52 pm GMT
"Big" is more colloquial. "Great" seems just a tinge pompous...
Skippy   Mon May 05, 2008 10:47 pm GMT
If I were to meet Billy Corgan, I would tell him I'm a HUGE fan. I've never heard of someone being a "great" fan, but grammatically it makes sense.
Guest   Tue May 06, 2008 7:11 am GMT
'of' sounds a little awkward don't you think. eg:

"I am a big fan of a computer" -> better to say "I am a big computer fan"
"I am a big fan of a motor" -> "I am a big motor fan"

But even so, unless you're writing a kids' book it still sounds weird because fans are inanimate objects and are not self-aware.
meez   Tue May 06, 2008 8:41 am GMT
I think ashu meant something like: "I'm a big fan of the Rolling Stones"
"I'm a big fan fan of a computer/motor" is just wrong (at least out of context).
However, although I'd prefer big to great as well, I'm not really sure whether big is actually more correct than great (grammatically).

btw. guest: inanimate and not self-aware?? that's bollocks...
meez   Tue May 06, 2008 9:48 am GMT
guest: were you just trying to be funny? If so, I apologise...
Guest   Tue May 06, 2008 10:52 am GMT
Fom Google:

"I'm a huge fan" -- 753000

"I'm a big fan" -- 434000

"I'm a great fan" -- 227000
Guest   Tue May 06, 2008 4:42 pm GMT
<<'of' sounds a little awkward don't you think. eg:

"I am a big fan of a computer" -> better to say "I am a big computer fan">>

I suppose you could say "I'm a big fan of computers". "I'm a big computer fan could be ambiguous (as in a 150mm fan or 120mm fan, 80mm or 92mm being more common, especially in the past).
Guest   Wed May 07, 2008 2:55 am GMT
Computer fans are generally fairly small, so it would be a kind of oxymoron... though everything is relative.