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Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006Concrete as an adjective
In certain languages, "concrete" is used only as an adjective, antonymous with "abstract". English seems to be an exception with the prevalence of the noun usage ("the building material"). Therefore, how natural does such a sentence sound like in formal English: "Your questions are abstract and ambiguous, please pose concrete questions"? Do you have associations with the building material right away? Should the adjective "specific" be used instead in such cases? > In certain languages, "concrete" is used only as an adjective, > antonymous with "abstract". English seems to be an exception with the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Do you have associations with the building material right away? "in concreto" is an old Latin expression. http://etext.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv2-59 >Should > the adjective "specific" be used instead in such cases? Yes. Seems odd to me to ask a 'concrete' question. > > In certain languages, "concrete" is used only as an adjective, > > antonymous with "abstract". English seems to be an exception with the [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Yes. Seems odd to me to ask a 'concrete' question. Eh, how much gravel and cement should I mix into this foundation? <grin> Fiance <rentgenas11@yahoo.com> had it: > In certain languages, "concrete" is used only as an adjective, > antonymous with "abstract". English seems to be an exception with the [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > "Your questions are abstract and ambiguous, please pose concrete > questions"? Is there something wrong with "ask"? Latinate words are often not the best choice if you want write plainly. > Do you have associations with the building material right away? Should > the adjective "specific" be used instead in such cases? Nope, it sounds fine and I wouldn't think of the building material. I use it myself in this way.  SignatureDavid ===== > In certain languages, "concrete" is used only as an adjective, > antonymous with "abstract". English seems to be an exception with the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Do you have associations with the building material right away? No. As others have said, it is a perfectly natural and clear use. >Should the adjective "specific" be used instead in such cases? No, even if you want to use something other than "concrete". "Specific is a word designating a level in a hierarchy of generality, not of abstractness; the scale is something like this: generic specific particular (Think of biology: a genus, a species, an individual.) Good uses for "specific" in its correct meaning are not numerous. A passable synonym for "concrete" is "definite". One can ask "Is this action good?" That is particular but abstract. Or one can ask "Is this act legal?" That is both particular and concrete. If one asks "What is 'good'?" that is a generic and abstract question. There is necessarily a good bit of overlap between the concepts of generality and definiteness, but there remains a differentiation worth observing. > > In certain languages, "concrete" is used only as an adjective, > > antonymous with "abstract". English seems to be an exception with the [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > specific > particular I'm not sure I agree. What about genus, species, individual. 'Particular' is not 'individual', but not 'vague' or 'abstract'. 'Specific' is oppsed to 'general' in ordinary use. See senses 2, 3, and especially 4 "characterized by precise formulation". That is EXACTLY what a 'specific' question is. Main Entry:1specific Pronunciation:sp**sifik, -f*k Function:adjective Etymology:Late Latin specificus, from Latin species + -ficus -fic 1 : constituting or falling into the category specified *specific fertilizing agents such as nitrogen or phosphate* 2 : having a real and fixed relationship to and usually constituting a characteristic of : being peculiar to the thing or relation in question *the specific qualities of a drug* *a specific distinction between vice and virtue* *specific symptoms of a disease* 3 : restricted by nature to a particular individual, situation, relation, or effect : PECULIAR *faults specific to past centuries*: as a of a therapeutic agent : exerting a definitive and distinctive influence on a particular part of the body or on the course of a particular disease *quinine is highly specific for malaria* b of a parasite (1) : capable of living and reproducing in only one kind of host(2) : producing a particular disease c of a disease : caused by a particular pathogen (as a microorganism) d of an antigen or antibody : capable of reacting with but one antibody or antigen or with an antibody or antigen in but one way *in complement fixation both antigen and antibody may be either specific or nonspecific* 4 a : characterized by precise formulation or accurate restriction (as in stating, describing, defining, reserving) : free from such ambiguity as results from careless lack of precision or from omission of pertinent matter *a specific statement of faith* *specific analysis of the problem* *a specific agreement* b : intended for or restricted to a particular end or object *a specific deposit in a bank* 5 : of, relating to, or constituting a species and especially a taxonomic species *groups of specific rank* *distinctive specific characters* 6 : being any of various arbitrary physical constants and especially one relating a quantitative attribute to unit mass, volume, or area *specific luminous intensity is the luminous intensity per unit area of source* see SPECIFIC ENTROPY, SPECIFIC GRAVITY, SPECIFIC HEAT, SPECIFIC HUMIDITY synonyms see EXPLICIT, SPECIAL > (Think of biology: a genus, a species, an individual.) Good uses for > "specific" in its correct meaning are not numerous. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > generality and definiteness, but there remains a differentiation worth > observing. > In certain languages, "concrete" is used only as an adjective, > antonymous with "abstract". English seems to be an exception with the > prevalence of the noun usage ("the building material"). That seems a strange assertion. I'd expect any country using the stuff would have a name for it. A quick check in French, Spanish and German confirms they all have a word for 'concrete the noun. They use a different word for the adjective. What, exactly, are you trying to say? SignatureJohn Dean Oxford John Dean rae: > > In certain languages, "concrete" is used only as an adjective, > > antonymous with "abstract". English seems to be an exception with the [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > they all have a word for 'concrete the noun. They use a different word for > the adjective. What, exactly, are you trying to say? I can only speak for Lithuanian and Russian here for sure: both use variants of "concrete" only as an adjective antonymous with abstract. The word for "concrete" as the noun is completely different in both languages (the root is "beton-", derived from French "béton"). I'm pretty sure the same applies to more slavic languages related to Russian. > In certain languages, "concrete" is used only as an adjective, > antonymous with "abstract". English seems to be an exception with [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > "Your questions are abstract and ambiguous, please pose concrete > questions"? That use of "concrete" sounds perfectly normal to me, although I'd change the punctuation. > Do you have associations with the building material right away? Not really, although it can lead to occasional puns. At Stanford, one of the buildings in the main Quad has a statue of biologist Louis Agassiz on the second floor shelf on the front wall. During the 1906 earthquake, the shelf gave way and the statue wound up, head down, penetrating the cement walk, leading one professor to opine that "Agassiz was better in the abstract than in the concrete". http://quake06.stanford.edu/centennial/tour/stop3.html SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |If only some crazy scientist 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |somewhere would develop a device Palo Alto, CA 94304 |that would allow us to change the |channel on our televisions...... kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com | --"lazarus" (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ Clarity is a matter of intent. Keep in mind that abstract and concrete refer to thought process. The concepts in question may be either abstract or concrete. If you wish others to pose concrete questions rather than abstract questions, then you wish them to keep the content comprehensible by relation to reality or sensory experience. Something that exists only in the mind and can be manipulated only in the mind and understood through imagination, is abstract. If this is what you mean, then your construction is clear. If you simply want someone to be concise and clear, then just say so. > In certain languages, "concrete" is used only as an adjective, > antonymous with "abstract". English seems to be an exception with the [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Do you have associations with the building material right away? Should > the adjective "specific" be used instead in such cases? > In certain languages, "concrete" is used only as an adjective, > antonymous with "abstract". English seems to be an exception with the [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > "Your questions are abstract and ambiguous, please pose concrete > questions"? "Your questions are abstract and ambiguous; please pose concrete questions" sounds natural to me. (Note the semicolon.) > Do you have associations with the building material right away? No. |
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