A statue is a few inches big

[tufguy]

Can I say "A statue is a few inches big"?

 

[emsr2d2]

No. It's a few inches tall​.

 

[Rover_KE]

I'd call that a statuette.

 

[emsr2d2]

Also, by saying "A statue ...", it appears that you're referring to all statues. If you're talking about a specific statue (indeed, statuette), then say "The statuette is a few inches tall".

 

[tufguy]

Also, by saying "A statue ...", it appears that you're referring to all statues. If you're talking about a specific statue (indeed, statuette), then say "The statuette is a few inches tall".

I don't understand. You mean "A statue" means a lot of statues (is it a correct word?). So should I say "There were a lot of statue or statues"?

 

[Tdol]

You should describe the situation you are talking about. Here, you are talking about one statue, but you know how high it is, so it is a specific statue.

 

[tufguy]

You should describe the situation you are talking about. Here, you are talking about one statue, but you know how high it is, so it is a specific statue.

I am still confused.

 

[Rover_KE]

That's because in the OP you plucked a random sentence out of thin air without any details or giving us a reason for asking a question about it.

If you'd been reading, and found a sentence saying 'An Oscar statuette is 13.5 inches tall', you could have told us that and asked us in post #1

​Can I say 'An Oscar statuette is 13.5 inches big instead of tall?

I've just deleted two further threads because they are purely hypothetical without any apparent relevance to your daily life and give us no good reason why we should spend any time trying to sort them out.

Spend more time reading. Your enquiring mind will soon encounter things you need to ask us about—like 'Why does the Delhi Times headline say 'Stephen Hawking dies at 76' instead of died?'

 

[tufguy]

Okay a statuette is smaller than life-size and a statue is same or bigger than life-size. Am I right?

 

[Tdol]

A statuette is generally quite a lot smaller than life-size. There's no fixed point for something to be a statue for me.

 

[tufguy]

A statuette is generally quite a lot smaller than life-size. There's no fixed point for something to be a statue for me.

So "A statuette" can be called "A statue" as well. Am I correct?

 

[Rover_KE]

So "a statuette" can be called "a statue" as well. Am I correct?

Not usually.

statue /ˈstætjuː/n

• a wooden, stone, metal, plaster, or other kind of sculpture of a human or animal figure, usually life-size or larger

(Collins)