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Wenlin dictionary doesn't consider 大 as an adverb, whereas Online dictionary Chine Nouvelle considers it also as an adverb.
So is 大 commonly used in modern Chinese as an adverb? Or would it not be grammatically correct to translate 大 as "greatly"?
What about the use of the structural particle 地 (de) after the adjective to make it function as an adverb concerning 大?
Besides being a common adjective, 大 is also a common adverb. It is mostly used with single character verb or adjective (more literary than colloquial)
Example:
駡 (to scold) --> 大駡 (to scold strongly) e.g. 大駡他是漢奸
好 (good) --> 大好 (quite good; very good) e.g. 現在形勢大好
讚 (to praise) --> 大讚 (to greatly praise) e.g. 大讚他品學兼優
勇 (strong) --> 大勇 (very stong) e.g. 這匹馬狀態大勇
We can use 地 with 大 when 大 is reduplicated. For Example, 大大地提高 (greatly raise)， 大大地增加(greatly increase). But 地 is optional, meaning without it, the adverb still works, e.g. 大大提高，大大增加
We never use the adverb marker 地 with 大 alone. 大地提高 or 大地增加 is ungrammatical
大 in 大地 (the earth) is an adjective and 大地 itself is a compound word noun
Very good answer from Tang Ho. I'd just like to add a few 4-character expressions that use 大 as adverb:
大吃一驚 to be greatly surprise/ shocked
大灑金錢 to spend a lot of money
大興土木 to build many things (literally, to move earth and wood)
Example sentence:
這個政府忽然大灑金錢，大興土木，建了很多無用的設施，令人大吃一驚。
Out of the blue, this government spent a lot of money to build many useless facilities. This really shocked a lot of people.
These are just a few expressions that came to mind. I am sure there are many more.
