Is It Correct to Say “A Big Congratulations”? - Strategies for ...

The expression “a big congratulations” is a fragmented phrase that tells a whole group of people that someone in the group or many people in the ... SkiptoContent Haveyoueverfoundyourselfwantingtocongratulatesomeoneforanaccomplishmentbutarenotquitesurethebestwaytosayit?“Abigcongratulations”isaclassicphrasethatpeopleusewhencongratulatingsomeone.Butit’snotalwaysclearthebestwaytouse“abigcongratulations”inasentenceorthepropercontexttousethephrase! Itisnotcorrecttosay“abigcongratulations”asaphrasebyitselfbecauseitisafragmentedphrase,meaningthatitisonlypartofasentence.Thecorrectwaytosaythephraseis“abigcongratulationsto_____.”Whenwesay“abigcongratulations,”wewanttopraiseorgivegoodwishestoapersonorgroupofpeoplebecausesomethinggoodhashappenedtothem. Inthisarticle,wewillgooverthemeaningof“abigcongratulations”inmoredetail,howtousethephrase,andsomecommonquestionsyoumayhaveaboutthewords.We’llalsotalkaboutsomeotherthingsyoucansayinplaceof“Abigcongratulations.”  WhatDoes“ABigCongratulations”Mean? Theexpression“abigcongratulations”isafragmentedphrasethattellsawholegroupofpeoplethatsomeoneinthegroupormanypeopleinthegrouphavedonesomethingworthyforustopraiseorcongratulate.  Whenwesay“congratulations,”wepraisesomeoneforanaccomplishmentthattheyhavecompletedorwon(source).It’spervasiveforsomeonetosay“Congratulations!”or“Congrats!”asanexclamation. “Congratulations”isapluralnounthatweusetoletpeopleknowweareproudofthemforanaccomplishmentorexcitinglifeeventthathashappenedtothem(source).  Theword“big”isanadjectivethatmodifiesthenoun“congratulations.”Itletsthelistenerknowthatthespeakerisgivingan“extra”ora“big”congratulations(source). IsItGrammaticallyCorrecttoSay“ABigCongratulations” Thephrase“abigcongratulations”isnotgrammaticallycorrectonitsown.Itiscorrecttosay“congratulations”onitsown,butwemustuse“abigcongratulations”inasentence.Thisisbecause“congratulations”isaninterjection,while“abigcongratulations”isafragmentedphrase(source).  WhatAbout“ABigCongratulation”? ThisoneisoftenconfusingforEnglishLanguageLearners.Evenifyouonlycongratulateonepersonforonethingtheyhaveaccomplished,thewordwillalwaysbe“congratulations,”not“congratulation.” While“congratulation”isaword,werarelyuseitinEnglish.Instead,stickwith“congratulations”inmostsituations,andyouwillbefine. WhichIsCorrect:CongratulationsorCongradulations?  Manypeoplegetthespellingofcongratulationsconfused.Thecorrectspellingis“congratulations.”However,sometimespeoplethinkitis“congradulations”becausemanyEnglishspeakerspronouncethe“t”in“congratulations”likea“d,”whichcanmakeitdifficultforEnglishlearnerstounderstand.  Somepeoplealsogetconfusedbecausepeoplewillsometimeswriteitas“conGRADulations”whensomeonehasgraduatedfromhighschoolorcollegeasaportmanteaubetween“congratulations”and“graduation.”  HowDoYouUse“ABigCongratulations”? Since“abigcongratulations”isnotaninterjectionoranimperativestatementbutafragmentedphrase,wecan’tuseitonitsown,andwemustuseitaspartofalargersentence.   Let’sbreakdownthegrammarandtakeacloserlookatthephraseinacompletesentence.  Impliedsubjectpronoun+verbPhrase“abigcongratulations”Preposition+objectpronounLet’sgiveabigcongratulationstoCherieWewouldliketogiveabigcongratulationstoAndyWearegoingtogiveabigcongratulationstothesoloistsWe’regivingabigcongratulationstoallthescholarshipwinnersIwillgiveabigcongratulationstoStellaIwouldliketogiveabigcongratulationstotheswimteamIamgivingabigcongratulationstotheartdepartment What’sinterestingaboutthephrase“abigcongratulations”isyoucanuseitinconversationandleaveoffthesubjectpronounandverb,anditstillmakessense,especiallywithimperativeclauses.Becauseofthecontext,youraudiencewillunderstandtheverbandsubjectpronoun.  Still,youwillneedtousethesubjectpronounandtheverbtogivecontextinmostcases. [You]Letusgiveabigcongratulationstoeveryonewhoparticipated.Abigcongratulationstoeveryonewhoparticipated.  Technically,thesecondexampleisnotgrammaticallycorrect;however,thespeakerusesitcolloquially,andweeasilyunderstandthisinconversation.That’sbecausewhenyousay“abigcongratulations,”youareactively“giving”thecongratulationsasyousayit. Neitherthepluralpronoun“us”northeverb“give”arenecessaryforeveryonetounderstandwhatyouaredoing. Justrememberthatitwillbeessentialtousethephraseinacompletesentencebyincludingtheverbandsubjectpronounifyouarewriting. WhenCanYouUse“ABigCongratulations”? Imagebychul5208viaPixabay Whenwesay“abigcongratulations,”weexpresspraiseandrecognitionforanotableaccomplishmentorachievementthatsomeonehasmade.Thisphrasecanworkforsignificantandparticularlynoteworthyachievementsthatyouwanttopraisesomeonefor. Example: AbigcongratulationstoKathryn,whorecentlywonaPulitzerforhernewnovel. Wecanalsouseitformorenormalormundaneaccomplishmentsthatyoustillwanttorecognize. Example: AbigcongratulationstoeveryonewhogotanAontheirfinalexamthissemester. Theimportantthingtonoteisthatyouaretryingtodrawattentiontosomeoneoragroupofpeoplewhohaveaccomplishedorachievedsomethingthatisworthyofpraiseandattention.  Youcanalsouse“abigcongratulations”whensomeonehasachievedabigmilestoneintheirlife,suchasawedding,birth,oranniversary.  Examples: AbigcongratulationstotheAndersonswhorecentlywelcomedanewdaughterintotheirlife. AbigcongratulationstoTonyandMariafortheir25thweddinganniversary. Eachoftheseexamplesisasentencefragmentwherewearesupposedtoinferthatthesubjectisusandwishsomeoneabigcongratulations. It’sessentialalwaystoincludewhyyouarecongratulatingtheperson;otherwise,theotherpeopleinyourgroupwillnotunderstandwhyyoucomplimentthem.Youcansayitinthesamesentenceorbreakitup. AbigcongratulationstoZoeforhavingthehighestGPAintheschool.AbigcongratulationstoZoe.ShehasthehighestGPAintheschool. Bothexamplesabovearecorrect.Justaslongasyouexplainwhyyouarecongratulatingthem,whetherinthesentenceorinthenextsentence,youwillbefine.  Ifyouareinterestedinlearningabouthowtouseotherstandalonepleasantries,youcancheckoutthisarticle:“IsItCorrecttoSay‘SafeTravels’?” InWhatContextCanYouUse“ABigCongratulations”? Thereareafewimportantcontextstoconsiderwhenusingthephrase“abigcongratulations.”Thefirstthingtoknowisthatweusethephrasemostcommonlyinworkplace,professional,oracademicsettings.Theseareallplaceswherepeoplewilltypicallyhavenotableachievementsthatyouwanttodrawattentionto.  Althoughthelanguagecanbesomewhatcasualandinformalattimes,itisstillagenerallyformalphraseoverallandisnotsomethingyouwouldsayinmorecasualconversations.  GoodLet’sgiveabigcongratulationstoeveryscholarshiprecipient. AwkwardLet’sgiveabigcongratulationstoeveryfriendwhowonascholarship.  Bothoftheexamplesabovearegrammaticallycorrect,butthesecondsentenceisnotsomethingyou’dtypicallysaytofriends.Evenifseveralofyourfriendsreceivedscholarships,thiswouldbeanawkwardwaytocongratulatethembecauseitsoundsformaland“corporate.”  Thesecondthingtonotewhenusingthisphraseisthatitisnotjustaphrasetogivesomeonecongratulations,butonewhereyouletpeopleinyourgroupknowthatsomeonedeservescongratulations.Thepointofusingthisphraseistodrawattentionandgivegrouprecognitiontosomeone. GoodI’dliketogiveabigcongratulationstoSallyforwinningtheartcontest. AwkwardI’dliketogiveyouabigcongratulationsforwinningtheartcontest.  Bothexamplesaregrammaticallycorrectonceagain.Still,justlikebefore,thesecondexampleisanawkwardandoverlyformalwaytospeaktosomebodyinaone-on-onesituation.Rememberthatthisphraseisbestreservedforwhenyouaretryingtogetsomeonesomeextraattention! TellingSomeoneElseThatYouGotaBigCongratulations Whatifsomeonecongratulatedyouatworkoratschoolandyouwantedtotellsomeoneaboutyourexperience?Youcouldsaysomethinglikethis:  Igotabigcongratulationsinclasstodayfrommyteacherforwinningthepoetrycontest.  Let’stakeacloserlookatthatphrase.Unlikewhenyougivesomeoneabigcongratulations,thereisnooptionforanimpliedverbwhenyoutellsomeonethatyougotcongratulations. Theotherimportantthingtonoteisthattheprepositionwillchangeaswelltoshowthatthedirectionofthecongratulationshaschangedfromgivingtogetting.  Subjectpronoun+verbPhrase“abigthankyou”Preposition+objectpronounIgotabigcongratulationsfrommyteacher Seehowintheotherexampleswesay“abigcongratulationsto____?”However,whentalkingabouthavingreceivedcongratulations,wewillsay“abigcongratulationsfrom____.” Using“ABigCongratulations”inaFullSentence We’vealreadycoveredwhentouse“abigcongratulations”andhowtouseit,solet’slookatafewmorespecificexamplestogetabettersenseofhowtouse“abigcongratulations”inacompletesentence. Abigcongratulationstoeveryonewhoappliedforthescholarshipthisyear.AbigcongratulationstoJimforhisnewpromotion. I’dliketogiveabigcongratulationstothesalesteamforasuccessfulyear. Let’sgiveabigcongratulationstoMartaforhernewbaby.We’dliketogiveabigcongratulationstoSonia,winnerofthisyear’ssingingcontest. Let’salsolookatafewmoreexamplesofhowyoucouldusethephraseifyouwanttotellsomeoneelsethatyoureceivedcongratulations. Igotabigcongratulationsfromtheteamatworktodayformypromotion.Ireceivedabigcongratulationsfrommyprofessorforwinningthatscholarship. Youcanalsotalkaboutsomeoneelsegettingabigcongratulations.  Keithgotabigcongratulationsfromtheofficeforhisbiggrant. Thescholarshipwinnersgotabigcongratulationsfromthedeanthisweek.  Tolearnmoreaboutothercommonexpressions,checkoutthisarticle:“IsitProperGrammartosayLookingForwardtoTalkingtoYou?”  ImagebyMyriams-FotosviaPixabay WhenNottoUse“ABigCongratulations”? Wedonotuse“abigcongratulations”whenspeakingtosomeoneindividuallyorinasmallgroupofpeopleweknowwell,likefamilyorfriends.Recallthatwereserve“abigcongratulations”formoreformalorprofessionalsettings.  Here’sanexampleofthefirstcircumstanceofaverycloseorintimategroup. AwkwardLet’sgiveabigcongratulationstoeveryfriendwhowonascholarship. BetterCongratulationstoyouguysforwinningascholarship! Thesecondtypeofsituationwhereyoudon’twanttouse“abigcongratulations”iswhenyouarehavingaone-on-oneconversationwithsomeone.Ifyousay“abigcongratulations”inthissituation,itwillsoundstrangeandshowyandnotatallappropriateforanindividualconversation.  AwkwardI’dliketogiveyouabigcongratulationsforwinningtheartcontest. BetterCongratulationsforwinningtheartcontest.  WhatCanYouUseInsteadof“ABigCongratulations”? Ifyouaretryingtodrawpeople’sattentiontothehardworkoraccomplishmentsthatsomeonehasdone,butyoudon’twanttosay“abigcongratulations,”youcanuseseveralotherphrasesinstead. Let’slookatafewhere:  Congratulations.Bestwishes(especiallyifsomeoneisgettingmarriedorengaged).Heartfeltcongratulations.Warmestcongratulations.Whatanaccomplishment.I’dliketogiveashout-outto____.I’dliketogivepraiseto____.I’dliketorecognize_____.Threecheersto______.Aroundofapplauseto____.Hatsoffto_____.Abigmazeltovto____(mazeltovisaYiddishphrasemeaning“congratulations”).Atoastto_____. Synonymsfor“Congratulations” Whatifyoujustwanttosay“congratulations”toanindividualinsteadofagroup,maybeafriendorfamilymemberorevenacoworker?Therearesomegreatphrasesouttheretosay“congratulations”thatcanchangethingsupabit.  Congrats.Felicitations.Kudos.Props.Madprops.Cheers.Mazeltov.Welldone.Goodjob.Greatjob.Fantasticwork.Amazing.Hatsoff.Yourock. SentenceFragments Normally,anexpressionthatdoesnotcontainasubjectandapredicate(usuallycontainingaverb)isasentencefragment(source).However,wegenerallyacceptexpressionslikeinterjectionsorimperatives,thoughtheydonotfollowthisrule.Thisarticlewaswrittenforstrategiesforparents.com. Forinstance,interjectionslike“Congratulations!”aregenerallyabruptandlackgrammaticalconnection.Imperativeclausesalsogenerallylackasubjectwhiletheydocontainaverbasthespeakerexpectstherecipienttoknowwhothesubjectisandwhattheyexpectthemtodo. FinalThoughts “Abigcongratulations”isaphraseweusetoacknowledgeorrecognizesomeone’saccomplishmentstoalargegroupofpeople.Itisusefulforworkandprofessionalsettingswhenyouwanttopraisesomeoneforsomethingtheyhaveaccomplishedoramilestonetheyhaveachieved. Postnavigation IsItCorrecttoSay“FromAcross”?IsItCorrecttoSay“Biggest”? About Hi!I'mDr.PatrickCapriola,afatheroftwogirlswhoisalwayslookingforwaystobeabetterdad.Iamacareereducatorandhaveservedattheclassroom,administrative,anduniversitylevels.Icreatedthissitetosharehigh-qualityresearch-basedcontentonkids,parentingandnavigatingtheschoolsystem. 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