- Small is the opposite of big.
- Small is opposite to big.
Is the second statement grammatical? It sounds okay to me, but only if I leave out the the.
Answer
Not in the way you are using it.
"Small is the opposite of big" is saying that the two words mean opposing things. This is okay, because "of" indicates a difference in essence.
"Small is opposite to big", however, indicates an opposition in physical position. It suggests that "X" is in the opposite position compared to "Y". The "to" in this phrase indicates a physical opposition, where the words "small" and "big" do not have physical entities to represent them, and it would only make sense if you were putting the words physically in a list, and saying they were opposite to each other on that list.
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